Shopaholic Abroad - Plot Synopsis

Plot Synopsis

Life looks good for Becky Bloomwood. She has a great relationship with boyfriend Luke as well as a steady job giving financial advice on television. Furthermore, she is on good terms with her bank manager, Derek Smeath. Life becomes problematic for Becky when Mr. Smeath retires from Endwich Bank and Luke announces he wants to make it big in New York, big changes are in store for Becky. She takes to New York like an angel to heaven. Becky has never been happier and the reader is treated to Becky seeing the Guggenheim in a unique way, winning the attention of employees at Barney's and discovering sample sales. Becky spends a substantial amount of money, but is sure she's financially secure, with the job offers on T.V. piling up. She also justifies her expenses by convincing herself that the items are an investment in the future.

An article in the Daily World reveals her high debts, calls her a fraud for telling people how to manage their money when she is herself feckless. This causes a fight between her and Luke, as there are current rumours about that his PR company, Brandon Communications, will lose Bank of London as their client, and her being revealed as in debt (and Luke not even knowing about it) doesn't help situations. More and more opportunities are ruled out, when more and more people read the article. She even loses her current job on Morning Coffee, and is replaced by her former co-worker Clare Edwards, who Becky never liked, being boring and smug. She returns home to her roommate and best friend Suze, while Luke remains in New York, and their relationship comes to an apparent end.

Becky and Suze go to Becky's new bank manager to ask for a bigger overdraft, but are met with nothing but hostility and disgust. A woman who worked for her former employers Morning Coffee contacts her and asks her to lunch, Becky becomes hopeful, but it turns out she only wants her to come on and be told off by Clare for TV. She becomes depressed and Suze tries to comfort her. On a trip to Luke's office to collect a package for her delivered there, Becky decides that she will see Mel, Luke's secretary, for a bit because she missed her. She collects her package, but also notices how quiet it is with no morale. She hides in Mel's desk just in time so no one catches her in the office. During that time, she overhears Alicia's conversation with her fiancé, Ben Bridges, and another Brandon C. worker, which confuses her. Becky discovers she, along with her colleagues and Bridges, are planning to steal Luke's clients, along with Bank of London, and run the company out of business to embarrass Luke. She waits for them to leave, which they do after a few tense minutes and she safely leaves Brandon C. Becky decides to do a little detective work and find out more about Alicia's plans. She heads down to King Street where a tenant from an office building he owns tells her the 2nd floor will be future home of the financial public relations business called "Bridges and Billington" and the Bank of London will be one of their future clients. Furious, Becky immediately contacts Luke's colleague Michael Ellis and tells him the truth about Alicia's plans. He thanks her, but she requests that he does not tell Luke that it was her, fearing that he will think she's gossiping behind his back to prove a point. Michael agrees to cover for Becky by telling him that he found out from an anonymous tip and will look into it.

The next day, Suze suggests for a healing and empowering exercise that Becky throw out all her unnecessary possessions. She was against it at first, but later agrees when she saw how cluttered her room is. While trying to tidy up, she comes up a better idea after watching a commercial on TV: sell her possessions instead. During that time, Becky gets a call from Michael and invites her to lunch at the Savoy Hotel. He congratulates her for helping them out because her information saved Brandon C. from being run out of business by exposing Alicia and her colleagues for trying to ruin the company's reputation with their clients. Michael reveals that Luke has returned to London to try and salvage his company's reputation with his clients while trying to keep interest open in America. Ben, as it turns out, was a key player in Alicia's plans; because of his wealth, he was able to finance the project that they've been working on for some time. They were planning to steal all of Brandon C.'s clients and set up business elsewhere in King Street. As soon as Luke left with Becky for New York, she and her colleagues got to work immediately by telling their co-workers and clients a bunch of rumors that he will close the UK branch. As a result, clients are threatening to sue him and workers were leaving earlier, all the while she was telling him a different story. Once Michael told Luke the truth, he immediately returned to search their desks and found plenty of evidence. Furious, he took Alicia and her colleagues by surprise in the meeting room and he fired them for it. Noticing that Becky has no job and is in debt, Michael offers her a job in Washington DC and can help her with immigration as he's got a good lawyer to convince them. He also offers her good advice in finding work that she's real passionate about and not fall into a job she doesn't like.

Becky realises that shopping is a huge investment and holds an auction for her clothes and items. She sells all of it, even her Denny and George scarf, a big symbol for her and Luke's relationship, which makes more than three times her money back to pay off her debts. Becky accepts the slot on Morning Coffee, but shocks them all by telling them she has no more financial problems, has paid of all her debt, and is heading off to New York now to work at Barney's (all of which is now true). Her former co-workers beg her to stay and answer questions from people on the phone wanting to know how she got out of debt. Becky heads to the airport with her travelling luggage ready to head to New York. Though unable to get an upgrade, the clerk was able to get her a window seat near the emergency exit with plenty of leg room.

Luke turns up at the airport, and tells Becky that Michael told him all about what she did for his company, and thanks her although he was angry about it because she should have told him. While having a drink at the airport bar, he revealed that he confronted the reporter from Daily World that wrote the bad article to reveal her source and was enraged when he found out Alicia was involved. After returning to London, Luke did extensive search in her desk and had found bank statements that belonged to Becky. This revelation made her feel bad for leaving her bank statements behind unaware of the trouble it and the excessive shopping caused her. However, Luke reveals that he was Alicia's real target and that he realised his mistake in accusing her for ruining his deal. He apologizes to Becky after learning Alicia ruined her T.V. career intentionally so she had an easier shot at embarrassing him by ruining Brandon C's reputation with their clients and running it out of business. She tells Luke that it was also her own fault, because if she had been keeping tabs on her money and not gone shopping excessively in New York, she wouldn't have put herself in the mess she was in. In a lot of ways, Becky was glad she read the article because she realised she had to grow up and start paying back her debts. Luke begs her to stay, to come and work at Brandon C. after revealing how much Alicia decimated his staff. Becky refuses and tells him she doesn't want to settle down at a job she doesn't want, as she's too young for that. Before she leaves, Luke gives her back her Denny and George scarf, revealing that the two bidders pitting against each other were him. Becky leaves for New York to accept a job at Barney's.

Some time later, Becky is working as a personal shopper at Barney's in New York. She has regular TV appearances representing fashion styles, which gains her more than three times her viewers back. Becky is helping out a customer to accessorize an outfit, when Luke shows up as a customer. He apologizes for all that happened. She soon realizes she really missed him, so they make up and get back together.