Aged merchant Mahmoud relates to his young nephews the story of his rise to fabulous riches. From being kicked out (literally) from the family home by his exasperated father, with only the barest patrimony to sustain him, the young wastrel goes from rags to riches, and back again, aided only by "providence" - and his very inventive wits. 

In "The Mercy of Allah", Belloc uses an Oriental setting to satirise the Western commercial and economic issues of his time, including the abuse of monopoly, insider trading, and the dangers of paper currency unbacked by gold.