Wanting to sue rich banker Charles Benson for breach of contract and to generate a good deal of publicity, twenty-six-year-old Jill Twilly, a fading dancer, writes a barrister, John Lewis, whom she in a drunken state has met at a party, to seek his advice. She reminds him that she had been the woman dancing in blue with a tattered boa. She does not trust the Yellow Pages and dislikes the look of barristers' offices. She recalls where Lewis works and offers to barter her tap-dancing lessons for advice.