Roy Osborne arrives at the hospital to a slightly less-than-warm welcome from his new room-mate, Brian, who has himself moved upstairs. But when Jilly Howell, widow of the previous occupant of his bed, arrives by force of habit with a basket of export-only food in tow, Brian's eager to move back in.

Despite a freakishly heavy snowstorm making travel for many near-impossible, Roy's father - who he hasn't seen for 6 years - turns up. And then so does his mother. And the woman his father's spent the time living with...

The arrival of a particularly ill new patient prompts Roy and Brian to be moved. They find themselves occupying a room with Norman Tucker, and soon have him implicated in an international espionage investigation.