Topper is the hilarious story of Mr. Cosmo Topper, paragon of suburban virtues and stick-in-the-mud. Determined to alter his humdrum life, Topper buys a second-hand car -- a sporty model -- and finds to his dismay that the previous owners are part of the deal. Or rather, the ghosts of the previous owners, for George and Marian Kerby are dead, having done "smack into an oak" in that very car. Alive, the Kerbys were a fast-living couple, and as ghosts they are still attached to the material world, possessing the ability to materialize at will. And so they do, propelling Topper into embarrassing situations all over town, compromising his virtue, and making him a happy man.