但是有钱人不一定是快乐的或好相处的。多林考特伯爵是一个易怒、自私、坏脾气的老头儿,而且他讨厌美国和美国人。每个人都怕他。但是对锡德里克来说,祖父是要去爱的人。同时,伯爵也会从他来自美国的孙子身上学到很多……
Cedric Errol lives with his American mother in New York. His father came from England, but he died some years ago, and Cedric knows nothing about his father's family. But one day an English lawyer comes to New York. He is Mr Havisham, lawyer to the Earl of Dorincourt, and he has news for Cedric and his mother. The Earl is Cedric's grandfather, and because Cedric's father is dead, Cedric is now the heir to the Dorincourt riches and family name. He must leave New York, say goodbye to his friends Mr Hobbs the grocery-man and Dick the boot-black, and go to England. As the Earl's grandson, his name is now Lord Fauntleroy, and he must live in a castle with his rich old grandfather.
But rich people are not always happy people, or nice people. The Earl of Dorincourt is an angry, selfish, bad-tempered old man, and he hates America and Americans. Everyone is afraid of him. But to Cedric, a grandfather is someone to love, and the Earl has a lot to learn from his American grandson...