Warren Thompson suddenly finds himself in his mid-50s, forced to move from the south up to Preston when his partner Anne's father falls ill.

Warren Thompson suddenly finds himself in his mid-50s, forced to move from the south up to Preston when his partner Anne's father falls ill. Warren's living in an area he doesn't like, doing a job he's not emotionally cut out for, and looking after two teenage stepsons, Charlie and Danny, that he never wanted.

Never blessed with any sort of patience or a paternal instinct, Warren just wants an easy life. He's happy with a clean house, a neat garden, and a nice cup of tea. But thanks to his naturally difficult personality, Warren is constantly finding himself in sticky situations. He's always making life hard for himself and often on the verge of losing it. There are no happy endings for Warren as he grapples against the problems and misunderstandings of his own making.

Warren pushes his eldest stepson Charlie into getting a job at the local garden centre so he can get a discount on pond liner, to rival his annoying neighbour Ian. Meanwhile, Anne and her sister Liz visit a clairvoyant and get a bleak reading of things to come on the cul-de-sac.