Redvers Potter arrives at work to find his nameplate being removed from his office door. At 12pm his company, Pottermints, is to be taken over but, until then, he is still in charge and he means to assert every last vestige of authority he has.

A trip to the library causes Potter to catch the bus and it "savages" his umbrella. To make matters worse, his sister, Harriet, is staying the night with her artist husband, Willy. They have parked their caravanette on the drive and Potter doesn't trust it.

Potter is starting to get used to his retirement and the time it affords him. He occupies himself fixing problems for people who didn't even know they had them.

Tolly's antique shop is the unfortunate recipient of Potter's well-meaning advice, as he applies tried and trusted sweet-selling logic to the world of valuable paintings.

Potter and the Vicar encounter Harry Tooms for the first time when he is caught cheating on the golf course. Potter decides that gangsters are very charitable when it comes to the church and sends Tolly in to get a donation!