Inspector Cyril Blake has retired from the Luxton Bus Company (see On the Buses) and has persuaded his reluctant sister to join him in Spain. He would have preferred to have gone on his own but he needed her half of their mother's legacy to buy the new flat! But when they arrive in Spain things are not the same as in the brochure - the flat is not finished and building is still taking place. The lifts don't work, the sun is too hot and the food is inedible - and don't mention the plumbing!