Young Martin Chuzzlewit was raised by his grandfather and namesake. The senior Martin a very wealthy man has been long convinced that everyone around him is after his money and so takes the precaution years before the book begins of raising an orphaned girl Mary to be his nursemaid with the understanding that she would be well cared for as long as he lived but upon his death be thrown out onto the streets penniless. She would thus have great motivation to care for his well-being and safeguard him from harm in contrast to his relatives who want him to die. However his grandson and heir Martin falls in love with Mary and wishes to marry her ruining the senior Martin''s plans to keep her uninterested in his fortune. He demands his grandson give up the engagement but the latter refuses prompting his grandfather to disinherit him.