The action centres around Angela (Catherine Tate) and Mary (Dawn French), a lesbian couple who run the local town store and post office. Though self-avowed lesbians, halfway through the first series Mary comments that the only reason they are a couple is because they were the only two people in town who weren't already in a relationship when they met. Some plots of first series episodes revolve around both of them pursuing romances with men and the jealousy the other partner experiences; by the second series, all mentions of a lesbian relationship are completely dropped, including a recurring gag during the opening credits that showed them in bed together. This is resolved in the final episode of the show.

Mary and Angela are friends with the village locals, including Holly (Anne-Marie Duff / Robin Weaver), owner of the local witchcraft centre; Harry (Richard Mylan), a young local hippy; Old Jake (David Bradley), who runs the local boat tour; Jeff (Sean Foley), a swinger and sexual deviant who owns the local pub with his deaf wife Daphne; and PC Alan Allen (Stewart Wright), the somewhat bumbling policeman who becomes Mary's major romantic interest in Series 2.