Ad man Martin Chadwick comes unstuck when his job is downsized forcing him to work from home and be answerable to his former assistant. He hates his new life and misses the stress of work. His money is far less but his expenses are still too high as he has a mum in a nursing home and two daughters in their twenties who won't leave home.

In the first episode, all his angst and frustration comes out in one day when his working wife Julie gives him a list of domestic chores to do. He not only manages to cock them all up but also has his dog taken into care, has to rescue his mum from the nursing home and finally get through an awful dinner party with their best friends.