The "Little Nugget" of the title is one Ogden Ford, a spoilt, unpleasant child of overindulgent, wealthy parents; he is so dubbed due to his immense ransom value, being a prime target for kidnappers. The novel revolves around numerous schemes to kidnap the boy, for various ends. It is essentially a comic romance, whose hero, Peter Burns, leaves behind a comfortable lifestyle to become a master at the boy's school, thanks to his scheming fiancee, and finds the change of lifestyle invigorating.