Lionel's masculinity is questioned when a man starts to follow Sandy and an unopened jar of pickled onions takes over the family life. Jean must call in some reinforcements to save Lionel from making a fool of himself.
While Lionel is content to live his life slowly, Jean feels she must keep working, irritating Judy and Sandy to no end. It may be that a professional psychiatrist is the only person who can help Jean.
Penny and Stephen are arriving soon and Jean is worried what Penny will think of the new changes in her life. But Lionel has a plan that will stop Penny and her relentless questions dead in their tracks.
While staying at their country house for the weekend, Jean and Lionel notice that Mrs.Bale seems to be more agitated than usual. While Jean is determined to get to the bottom of it, Lionel stays in bed with a bug.
Jean and Lionel return home from the country to meet Paul, Judy's new boyfriend. Then, Alistair surprises the whole family when he announces that he has become engaged.
As excited as they are at the prospect of more exciting neighbors coming to live next door to them, Jean and Lionel soon find themselves longing for their old neighbors when they learn who the prospective buyers for the house are.
Jean has been complaining about the lack of surprise in her and Lionel's life. Taking this to mean that Jean is bored, Lionel decides to plan a surprise vacation telling Jean at the last minute and then whisking her away. With the help of Judy, Sandy and Alistair, he pulls out all the stops to plan the most surprising surprise ever.
