When Arthur Drumpton is made redundant he chooses to leave London and return to Cocklesea, the seaside resort he frequented as a schoolboy. Already deserted by his wife (she ran off with his best friend), he hopes to re-create the glorious days of his youth.

With lay-off cheque in hand, he seeks out childhood friend Jacques du Bois, who it turns out is failed landscape painter and, unfortunately for Arthur, also a conman.

Jacques is married to the long-suffering Gloria. Gloria is proprietress of the Sunnysides Guest House but business is not great because Cocklesea is fading fast. Its pleasures appear to be all in the past and tourists are shunning its advances. With bigoted Jacques's bogus advice, the optimistic, easily-hoodwinked Arthur ploughs his wealth into schemes to rejuvenate the resort.