The title, first of all, is an acronym, and stands for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong." Old Filth -- or Dear Old Filth, when the story starts -- is Sir Edward Feathers, a wealthy old Englishman. As a penniless young man, Eddie Feathers left postwar London and made a magnificent fortune -- "a great stack of money" -- as a Hong Kong barrister, retiring as a judge and returning to England to live out his days.