Ladies Who Do

While cleaning an office in London, Mrs. Cragg discovers a cigar stub. Hidden in a scrap of paper is a telegram detailing a City takeover bid. Colonel Whitforth realises that the telegram contains insider information and intends to profit from it.

Whitforth unscrupulously uses the insider information to make £5,000 on the stock exchange and offers to share it with Mrs. Cragg. This profit marks the start of their uneasy partnership. The deal foreshadows the clever, cutthroat tactics to come.

Cragg intends to inform Ryder about the insider information. Before she can, she overhears Ryder on the phone discussing his plan to demolish Pitt Street and evict residents to build an office block. This revelation pushes her to take action.

Motivated by Ryder's threat, Cragg recruits three other Pitt Street cleaners to gather information. They form Ladezudu Ltd, a speculation syndicate headed by Whitforth, aimed at foiling the demolition plan.

The Ladezudu syndicate invests their entire capital, now £60,000, into an Irish pig producer. They hope the investment will yield profits to counter Ryder's demolition scheme. The move shows their ambition to fight back financially.

An outbreak of swine fever wipes out the pig producer's stock, destroying Ladezudu's capital. The women are left with nothing and face the loss of their hard-earned funds. The setback threatens their ability to oppose Ryder's project.

Ryder and his partner Sydney Tait offer residents £100 each to move within a month. The offer is met with little success, revealing Ryder's precarious finances and urgency. The residents' resistance continues despite the inducement.

Facing financial strain, Sydney Tait dissolves the partnership with Ryder. This leaves Ryder more exposed and complicates the demolition plans. The syndicate of residents grows less able to resist the project on its own.

With Ladezudu ruined, the demolition crew moves in to clear Pitt Street. The four charwomen and their neighbours are unable to mount a fight against the advancing construction. The tension peaks as displacement becomes imminent.

Whitforth reveals that when the pigs were buried, valuable deposits were discovered. Ladezudu would recover far more than their initial investment. The evidence shifts the balance in their favour.

Mrs. Cragg's determined resistance convinces Strang, Ryder's investor, to withdraw from the project. This bolsters their position and narrows Ryder's options. The community's effort starts paying off.

The Colonel invites Ryder to his office to discuss selling out; Ryder then meets the board of directors, which includes the four charwomen. He realises how they obtained their information. The moment reveals the power of the unlikely alliance.

The Colonel invites Ryder to lunch to discuss joining the board. The invitation signals a potential shift in control of the project. Ryder's future in the venture remains uncertain.

After everyone leaves, an unknown man enters the room and starts going through their waste paper. The intruder hints at further machinations and suggests that sensitive information remains at risk. The scene closes the circle of intrigue.