From an Auckland slum to the heights of a New York boardroom and, eventually, an obscure and unhappy old age, It's What Eddie Did records the rise and fall of Eddie Purvis, a rich and successful New Zealand advertising man, and his relationship with one of the world's great international airlines and its New York advertising agency. However, obsessed with own mid-life success, Eddie later discovers the importance of family, and that wealth can't protect him and them from life's troubles and disappointments.