The story takes place in England sometime between 1910 and 1920. Narrator Bertie Wooster, an idle and rich young man, opens "Jeeves Takes Charge" by admitting that he is much too dependent on his butler Jeeves. However, he is unashamed; after all, in Bertie's opinion, Jeeves is a genius. "From the collar upward he stands alone," says Bertie, and he proceeds to detail how he came to trust the butler with all of his affairs.

During a visit to Easeby, his Uncle Willoughby's estate, Bertie catches his original butler, Meadowes, stealing silk socks. He is forced to return to London to hire a new valet. Bertie is attempting to read a dull book given to him by his fiancee, Florence Craye, when Jeeves first arrives. Bertie, who is nursing a hangover, is immediately impressed when Jeeves concocts a remedy for him. During their conversation, Bertie learns that Jeeves...