Peter Lamb has always aspired to fatherhood, but his endeavours with women have so far come to nothing.

Living in relative luxury in central London thanks to a large inheritance from his uncle Reggie some fifteen years earlier, a chance encounter with a delivery boy whose father is gravely ill inspires Peter to put his time and money to an entirely different use: fostering.

Surmounting the initial challenges placed in his path by the bureaucracy of government, Peter purchases a large detached house to run as his foster home but finds his subsequent progress filled with hurdles he never expected to encounter. However his success takes everyone by surprise and he soon gathers a larger than expected group of children around him.