Shelley is working on an ad campaign for striped pyjamas when a crisis interrupts his train of thought. A fellow lodger, Miss Landis, is so lonely and depressed in the big city she takes an overdose of sleeping pills.

Shelley wants to buy an old book in a junk shop but the dealer tries to make him think it is worth far more than it really is. After a protracted debate, the dealer agrees to let him have it for nothing.

Shelley and Fran are in their bed-sit as usual. She is engrossed in a dog-eared copy of George Orwell's 'Keep The Aspidistra Flying' while he - plainly lonely - tries to strike up a conversation with her. But her only responses are non-committal grunts.

Shelley, now in work, looks for somewhere to live with wife-to-be Fran and their impending child. They come across a ramshackle house which they want to buy but cannot as they do not have enough money. A visit to the local Bank leads them nowhere - to get a mortgage you first need an account.

Shelley has to come up with a sales campaign for a new range of Instant Paella. The stuff proves hard to market as it is virtually tasteless. In a meeting, he inadvertently insults his boss Cyril ( John Barron ), not realising the comment has been captured on tape. When a colleague tells him this, he is horrified.

The final episode of the second 'Shelley' series ends with James marrying Fran. Mrs.H and Shelley's mother spend the night at Fran's Dad's palatial house in Shropshire. Isobel's liberal attitude to life and free use of language ( describing her son as 'a little sod' at one point ) clearly embarrass the host.

Visiting a health shop, Shelley is appalled at the high prices of some of the items. The moment he and Fran have long dreaded has arrived. Travelling by train, they arrive at the country home/farm of Gordon Smith, Fran's rich Dad. He is a charmless snob who regards Shelley as a layabout even though he now has a job.

Shelley is reunited with his oldest friend, Ned, whom he asks to be best man at his forthcoming wedding. Ned, unfortunately, is a 'Jack The Lad' type who loves to drink, smoke, and make love. Fran dislikes him intensely, and openly says so.

Shelley's attempts to prepare a dinner party meet with continual interruptions; first, a Jehovah's Witness rings the doorbell and refuses to go away, then an elderly neighbour called Mrs.Ratcliffe asks him to fix her shelf. Mrs.Ratcliffe is, unfortunately, senile, and thinks that all the women at that address - Mrs.H included - are on the game.