Recently-divorced Andrew is in a cleft stick. He has a job promotion likelihood but he feels obliged to live with and care for Peggy, his elderly mother, whose mind is starting to wander. His selfish brother Richard and Richard's social climbing wife Tina are no help as they want Andrew to bear all the responsibility. Andrew seems doomed to keep mum when she cooks a meal at midnight and has a disaster with the ironing.

Uncle William is being buried but Peggy has got it into her head that the funeral is that of Uncle Tom, who is still very much alive. She rides off in the funeral car without Andrew, stopping on the way to buy some oranges and, on arriving at the graveyard, causing confusion when she encounters Uncle Tom.

Unable to work at home due to his mother's interruptions Andrew gets back in touch with Kate, his ex-wife, and decides to go out for a platonic evening with her. Lisa, a baby-sitter, is engaged to sit with Peggy, who inadvertently causes mischief.

Andrew has dropped a computer on his foot at work and comes home with it in a bandage, supported by Rula, a taxi driver, whom Peggy mistakes for his girl-friend. Deciding that he is not well and has to be looked after, she goes out to buy him food but only succeeds in ending up in hospital. Richard and Tina, helpful as ever, decide that the time has come for Peggy to be put into a home though Andrew is still not keen.

Richard gives Peggy a dog but she lets it run off. Next day he wants it back as it belonged to his kids and he got rid of it because it annoyed him but now the kids are playing up. Andrew goes looking for it but gives to a little boy who strikes up an instant rapport with the dog. He explains to Peggy that she cannot look after the dog because her job is to look after him so she reads him bed-time stories.

Andrew is not happy when Peggy makes a will, splitting everything in half to be shared with Richard, and his malcontent annoys her. However, after he has rescued her from being locked in the bathroom, she decides to give him a special present - which proves to be as big an anti-climax as her 'winning' lottery ticket.

Fireman Colin brings Peggy home. She believes she is still a nurse and should be bandaging the fire-fighters. Andrew believes that she should have a companion to stop her wandering and hides her purse so she won't go out before the companion arrives. However she decides to buy Andrew some oysters and gets arrested for shop-lifting. Richard goes to bail her out and gets arrested for bribery. Andrew has some satisfaction in deciding to wait before doing anything to help his brother.

After Peggy gives him breakfast boiled eggs with painted faces and starts talking to her dead cat Andrew thinks it's time she went in a home and sees a very nice one. He persuades her it's a hotel but, when he goes to visit, finds she has been put in an austere room and feels guilty. He is about to get her out but Richard beats him to it.

Peggy wants to go on a picnic so Richard and Tina take her in the car, dragging Andrew along. Since it's raining hard they go to a stately home, where Peggy gets chatting to a group of old people visiting from a home. When she gets counted in with their number and driven back to the home Andrew must go and retrieve her.

Andrew invites three friends round for an evening of card games and Peggy is put out that he doesn't want her to join in. When the cards go missing he assumes that she has taken them in order to gain attention - which she duly does and he is annoyed that the friends take more interest in her than him.

After being caught in the middle of an argument between Peggy and Richard, Andrew hopes that looking after a friend's budgie will be a tonic for his mother, to take her mind off things. All starts very well but unfortunately she feeds it on chicken and accidentally kills it. She buys a replacement but will this fool Andrew?

Andrew invites Peggy's sister Marj to come and stay in the hopes that she can keep his mother company, thus allowing him more time with his girl-friend Wendy. Unfortunately the visit is not a success as the two sisters have never got on and old rivalries surface. Furthermore Wendy accuses Andrew of spending too much time with his mother and he is in danger of losing her.

Peggy wonders where her late husband may have gone and when told that he is in heaven she decides top book her own place next to him by doing good deeds for the local church. Unfortunately the local church doesn't want her good deeds and Andrew has to tell her.

Peggy is caught stealing a clock from her neighbour, Mr. Powell. She claims that it was originally hers but Powell stole it from her. He denies it. Andrew and Richard are confused as to how Powell would have ended up with Peggy's clock but, since she won't return it, Andrew buys it from Mr. Powell. Then he sees the inscription on the bottom of the clock that clears up matters.

It's Richard's birthday so Peggy decides it would be nice to have a family surprise party for him. Unfortunately he is very late in turning up and offers a lame excuse, leading Tina to suspect that he might be having an affair. Peggy, of course, only adds to the confusion before matters are resolved.

Despite Peggy's protests Andrew has his girl-friend Wendy stay the night. When Peggy finds out she is shocked and decides that she cannot live with such immorality so she will move in with Richard and Tina. Richard is horror-struck. Token visits are one thing but Peggy moving in with him would be awful and he tries to persuade Andrew to talk Peggy out of a move. Andrew now has the upper hand. Will he use it? Or will the status quo remain?