A major plot point of this story is the Irish Sweepstakes, a national lottery set up by the Republic of Ireland to generate funds for the country's hospital system. As lotteries at that time were still illegal in the U.S., this particular one was quite popular. One thing not mentioned in the story was that United States federal income taxes were still exceedingly high then and that most of the winnings would go to the government and not to Mrs. Archer. She'd be lucky to receive $27,000 out of the $133,000. Still, that amount would be equivalent to about $291,000 in 2024.