After Irene's daughter gets married, she receives a thank you note from Vera, with whom she socialised at the occasion. Touched by the gesture, Irene responds to Vera's note, and so begins a correspondence in which the ladies discourse upon all manner of events in their lives.

While Vera battles with builders, Irene is being romanced. Bill - a widower - has been paying her attention and she's enjoying every minute. Feeling neglected and a tad jealous, Vera nonetheless agrees to invite the two of them to lunch, and Irene prepares to show off her dapper new lothario. Things go much too well. Bill and Vera get on famously, and Irene is furious.

Irene invites Vera down for a visit, but long-held insecurities raise their head, when Vera revels in the limelight at a soiree that Irene takes her along to. Worse still, Irene learns that her daughter is moving to Australia, and she may never see her granddaughter again!

Vera discovers her unmarried daughter Karen is pregnant. Years of frustration lead to an embarrassing outburst by Karen in her hospital bed. Irene pays Vera a visit and finds that she gets on very well with Karen, who decides to spend a few days with her mum's pen pal.

Vera is deeply shocked to hear that Irene was both injured and arrested, and is now in hospital - suffering from amnesia, loss of sex drive and a compulsion to use bad language. Irene's friendly vicar Bruce suggests that Vera could help, but the hints and assorted memorabilia she sends to Irene confuse rather than clarify.

Irene is in prison - quite unreasonably - for demonstrating to her friends how she head-butted a bulldozer at the protest against the nuclear dumping site. Her swearing affliction only made matters worse. But at least Irene's memory is back: unhappily it returned in the middle of a performance by the Aster Players when a box of chocs fell on her head.