An obsessively punctual comprehensive school headmaster sets out to give an important speech at the annual Headmasters' Conference.

Brian Stimpson (John Cleese) is the headmaster of a comprehensive (high) school in England. He sets impossibly high standards for himself, his staff, and his pupils. One day, on the way to a conference at which he is to speak, suddenly all kinds of disasters start striking.—Rob Hartill

Fastidious time-keeping headmaster Brian Stimpson (John Cleese) allows plenty of time for his train journey to a Headmasters' Conference; unfortunately, he gets on the wrong train and misses his connection. As a result, he commandeers a car driven by sixth-former Laura (Sharon Maiden) to take him there. They are pursued by Stimpson's wife Gwenda (Alison Steadman) who, while taking three old ladies out for a drive, is mystified at seeing her husband with a young girl and gives suspicious chase. On the way, Stimpson encounters old flame Pat (Dame Penelope Wilton), who is also dragged into helping him beat his deadline. But when the car is destroyed, he and Laura must rob a salesman of his vehicle. Stimpson eventually arrives at the conference in a bedraggled state, followed by his wife and her charges--and the Police, who arrest him for car theft.—don @ minifie-1

Brian Stimpson is the fastidious headmaster of Thomas Tompion, a public comprehensive. He believes everything has its proper place--but, more importantly, its proper time, and he continually watches the clock to ensure those things that are supposed to happen at a certain time indeed happen right on the dot, including his students being in class; those who aren't must report to his office at 9:20 for a reprimand. In his own mind, he has made history in being the first public comprehensive headmaster to serve as Chair of the annual meeting of the Headmasters Conference this year at the University of Norwich, the Chair otherwise always from a snooty independent school. Today, his wife Gwenda Stimpson will drive him to the station to catch the 10:25h train to arrive in Norwich at 15:00h to allow him to greet attendees before he gives his historic welcome/keynote speech at 17:00h. Out of circumstance and unknown to Gwenda, Brian not only misses his train in he continually misunderstanding the context of the word "right", with no others today to get him to Norwich by 17:00h, but also loses his only copy of the speech. Exhausting all other options, he, in literally running into her in her family's car, asks one of his students, Laura Wisely to drive him to Norwich, he delivering the speech precisely at 17:00h in his mind which trumps her classes only in this circumstance. While all Brian can think about is getting to Norwich on time and trying to recreate the speech in his head, Laura has other thoughts, such as making sure that nothing happens to the family car, and grumbling about the just occurred break-up with her older boyfriend, the school's music teacher, Don Jolly. Unknown to them before they are able to leave town, Brian and Laura are spotted by a few people, including her mother and Gwenda, who believe that something improper is going on between the two, especially for Gwenda as Brian wouldn't let her accompany him to the meeting. As Brian and Laura get into one misadventure after another, they are followed by Gwenda, the Wiselys, Mr. Jolly, and others attached to them, with more joining the pursuit stemming from Brian and Laura's encounters en route.—Huggo

Brian Stimpson is the headmaster of a high school. He lives by punctuality and to-the-minute timing and plans and applies this ruthlessly in his school. He has just been made the chairman of the Independent Schools Headmasters Conference in Norwich, a momentous achievement. He sets off for the conference with everything planned to pinpoint accuracy but one mistake wrecks his timetable. This sets in motion a chaotic series of events.—grantss