One Foot In The Grave

After Victor dies in a road accident, Margaret faces up to life without him and vows to take revenge on the hit-and-run driver responsible.

Victor's luck continues as usual: he is now being sued for GBH after plunging a hypodermic syringe into a mooning youth's bare backside. This comes all despite his having been dead for some five months.

Yes, Margaret is now alone: Victor was killed in a hit-and-run accident outside the local train station - returning from a party she had encouraged him to attend - leaving her to boil with righteous anger not just for all of the injustices Victor has suffered over the years, but the final, fleeing perpetrator of the crime. She swears revenge, whatever the cost.

She has, meanwhile, commissioned a painting of them as a precious memory of their marriage but when delivered, Victor is horribly misrepresented. To support her in the continuing madness is new friend Glynis, whose husband also recently died: they met doing community litter-picking, searching for meaning and purpose after their losses, and Margaret soon discovered they shared similarly surreal existences.

Stepping back in time, Victor's last days on Earth were as bizarre as ever. A misunderstanding with the local paper caused a host of Catholic pilgrims to gather at the house to pray to Virgin Mary, offering requests and thanks for miracles achieved. Victor finds the supermarket even more of a nightmare than usual, filled with fake snow and dancing dwarves as a Christmas TV advert is filmed in the height of June; and has his keep-fit attempts put to shame in the local park.

Finally, he - slightly reluctantly - attends a work reunion party at Margaret's recommendation, but is aghast to find he is the only one of the group who actually manages to make it; despite this, he's treated to personal (and dreadful) cabaret!

Back to the present day, Margaret and Glynis are regaling each other with further tales of their misfortunes when a search for paracetamol brings about the most shocking turn of events of all.