When your safe has been acquired from a dubious source, you don't know the combination and then lose the key, a crisis occurs. Add to that an additional worry that somebody is trapped inside and you have a typical day at the Alcock office...
Marigold is in urgent need of a new husband in a meeting with the landlord, and Richard has to decide between risking his trousers or risking the Alcock Group of Companies being thrown out of their Soho office.
Richard is ambitious and believes that he is bigger than Soho - Mrs. Alcock is more concerned that he may bring down the ceiling if he doesn't stop what he is doing. Ernest is worried about where his critical path may lead. It's not long before Richard is searching for a new job and Marigold a new employee.
Mrs Alcock unveils the latest endeavour in her business empire: minicabs. The (one) car they acquire does seem to be a little bit worse for wear and had a bit of a bump - but how is Ernest playing pontoon as he goes down Oxford Street backwards?!
Can Mrs. Alcock interest Luigi in her wellington boots? Will Richard's visit to the strip club improve his knowledge? And will anyone notice the incriminating evidence left by Ernest on the fire escape?
Richard reflects on how he became involved in the Alcock Group of Companies after initially complaining about them. The clients of Artistic Books feel their "32 unretouched photographs for lovers of art" are a complete waste of money. Mrs. Alcock tries to juggle her liquid assets, but they look doomed.