When Susan tries to help out a chronically unemployable Nick, her plan turns out to be disastrous, Janey brings a different boy home every day, and Ben has problems with his assistant.

Ben and Susan face the surprise prospect of parenthood for the fourth time - a situation which is neither wholly desirable nor planned.

Preparations are afoot in the Harper household for the arrival of Sylvie, a French exchange student. Nick is keen to establish entente cordiale, but Janey is wary of the Parisian beauty. Meanwhile, Ben meets a prospective employee who does little to put him at ease.

Parents Ben and Susan reluctantly agree to let daughter Janey have a party whilst they are away on holiday - and plan to sneak back unnoticed into the house and check up on the children, just to be on the safe side.

Susan, Ben and the children travel to a family funeral in Leeds. In addition to reservation problems at the hotel, Nick's shameless liaisons with the hotel maid and Susan's inappropriate behaviour at the funeral add up to a fraught weekend.

Ben is distressed as he faces trouble at work in the shape of his new assistant, who cannot stand the sight of blood. His troubles do not get any easier when he arrives home and must face the trauma of his neighbour's DIY antics. Meanwhile, Janey's preparations for her driving test end with an unforgettable lesson with her dad.

The Harpers plan to redecorate their house, however, with Nick taking instructions from "The Naked Chef" rather too literally, and Janey's boyfriend spending the night in her room without her parents' permission, it appears that work will never get started.

Nick has a new girlfriend and the family get a bit of a shock when he brings her round for dinner. Also, Michael gets a new computer and Janey is starting to feel like the poor relation.

When an over-friendly patient gives him an expensive watch, Ben jumps to the conclusion that he is a gangster and is determined to get rid of the gift. Meanwhile, Susan searches the house for her anniversary present.

Susan's new boss has some funny ideas about the tourist business, but when she invites him to the family home for dinner in an effort to change his views, the unexpected happens.

Ben goes to a reunion of old school friends and is horrified to find that someone he never liked is now a millionaire. Elsewhere, Nick has found a new unconventional way of earning money.

Nick buys a motorcycle for his new business endeavour but not surprisingly, things do not go according to plan. Janey gets a new job in hopes of being discovered by film producers, and Susan tries to convince Ben to soften up.