London bachelor Monty Button-Purse spies Gracie at his friend's New Year Ball 1922, and is determined to woo her through the flourish of his penmanship. Unfortunately, even humorous letters are open to interpretation and, if misunderstood, can result in pangs of humiliation. Luckily, Monty's underlying mantra is 'forever subservient to optimism' and he decides to blunder onwards in the hope of conquering Gracie's fickle heart. Archie Brookes, as Monty, reads the lively correspondence between the two newest members of the topsy-turvy world we call courtship.