The Girl on the Boat features red-haired, dog-loving Wilhelmina "Billie" Bennet, and the three men, a long-time friend and admirer of Biller, a lily-livered poet who is engaged to Billie at the opening of the tale, and his dashing cousin, who falls for Billie at first sight. All four find themselves on an ocean liner headed for England together, and typically Wodehousian romantic shenanigans ensue.