Lionel and Helena Caradus take time off from their auctioneering business to congratulate their mother her sixtieth birthday. Victor, Ruth, Helena and Lionel gathered together for Violet's birthday. Victor gives Violet a brass coal scuttle, which Helena had hoped to give to her mother. There is thus some tension when Violet shows a great deal of liking for the object. In the meantime, Violet's maid, Ettie, is worried when she finds leftover coal in the scuttle for there's a belief that it is unlucky. It seems to mean that the previous owner died before they could finish the coal.