In the short story The Golden Ball, George Dundas is a young man who is employed by his uncle Ephraim Leadbetter in the City of London firm "Leadbetter and Gilling". At the beginning of the story, George's uncle fires him because he had taken one too many days off in the middle of the week without seeking permission. His uncle angrily tells him that he had thrown the golden ball of opportunity to George and he had failed to grasp it. Out on the streets of London, he does meet and opportunity. How he manages to grasp it forms the main plot of the story.