 The protagonist of this bildungsroman is Arthur "Artie" Kipps, an illegitimate orphan. In Book I ("The Making of Kipps") he is raised by his aged aunt and uncle who keep a little shop in New Romney, on the southern coast of Kent. He attends the Cavendish Academy ("a middle-class school," not a "boarding school") in Hastings, in East Sussex. "By inherent nature he had a sociable disposition," and befriends Sid Pornick, the neighbour's boy. Kipps falls in love with Sid's younger sister Ann, and Ann gives him half a sixpence as a token of their love when at the age of fourteen he is apprenticed to the Folkestone Drapery Bazaar, run by Mr. Shalford.
But the Pornicks move away and Kipps forgets Ann. He becomes infatuated with Helen Walshingham, who teaches a wood carving class on Thursday nights. When Chitterlow, an actor and aspiring playwright, meets Kipps by running into him with his bicycle, their encounter turns into an inebriated evening that leads to Kipps's being "swapped" (dismissed). But before he leaves Mr. Shalford's establishment, Chitterlow brings to his attention a newspaper advertisement that leads to an unsuspected inheritance for Kipps from his grandfather of a house and  26,000.
In Book II ("Mr. Coote the Chaperon"), Kipps fails in his attempt to adapt to his new social class while living in Folkestone. By chance he meets a Mr. Coote, who undertakes his social education; this leads to renewed contact with Helen Walshingham, and they become engaged. But the process of bettering himself alienates Kipps more and more, especially since Helen has in view taking advantage of Kipps's fortune to establish herself and her brother in London society. Chance meetings with Sid and then Ann (now a house servant) lead to a decision to abandon social conventions (and his engagement to Helen) and marry his childhood sweetheart.
In Book III ("Kippses"), the attempt to find a suitable house for his new status precipitates Kipps back into a struggle with the "complex and difficult" English social system. Kipps and Ann quarrel. Then they learn that Helen's brother, a solicitor, has lost most of their fortune through speculation. This leads to a happier situation, however, when Kipps opens a branch of the Associated Booksellers' Trading Union (Limited) in Hythe, and they have a son. The success of Chitterlow's play, in which Kipps had invested  2,000, restores their fortune, but they are content to remain, as at the beginning, shopkeepers in a small coastal town.
If Kipps never met Chitterlow, could he have married Ann? When Kipps runs into his childhood sweetheart again, what does she do for a living? Why did Kipps and Ann decided to remain as shop keepers when they had all that money ? What is the main character's name? What does Ann give Kipps to show him her affection? Who is Ann Pornick? How much did Kipps invest into Chitterlow's play ? How old was Artie when he was apprenticed at Folkestone Drapery? How did Kipps meet Chitterlow  ? Where did Artie go to school? What did Kipps inherit? Who was Helen Walshingham? How did Kipps' fortune get restored? Who does Artie befriend? How did Kipps find out about the inheritance ? What appears to be driving Helen Walshingham's affection for Kipps? What caused Kipps to lose his first job? After Ann moves, who does Artie become infatuated with? What did Helen do for a living? How much was the inheritance? Who did Kipps get engaged to ? How much did Kipps inherit ? How did Kipps learn he had an inheritance to collect? Who left Artie an inheritance? Why was Kipps disadvantaged in English society? Who was Artie's childhood girlfriend? Why did Kipps finally decided to end it with Hellen? Who Raised Kipps? Why did Kipps struggle with his life in the english Social System ? Who is raising Artie?