Cantankerous, world-weary and generally grumpy... think of an adjective synonymous with 'crabby' and it will apply to Stephen Febble. All he wants is a quiet life but, to his horror, his long-suffering wife Virginia fills the house with guests for the weekend. Not only do his daughter, gormless son-in-law, precocious grand-daughter and incontinent dog arrive, but his best friend, his wife and her smooth chiropodist lover turn up for dinner. In turn exasperated, frustrated and irritated, Stephen responds in his normal fashion - reaching for the whisky (in large amounts) and for the sarcasm (in even larger amounts).