The tale of Ralph Enderby and his getaway home, Barnes Place, is told in "The House on the River." Ralph Enderby, didn't give a damn and used the house as a weekend office where he hosted friends and concocted the business plans that had made his name a household one among the City men in the know. Michel Quint, with the help of Ernie - an actress, decides to break into Ralph Enderby's safe because of some papers. Michel Quint believes that the papers will be the ruin of himself and Ted Somerset.