The Hardacres soon realise that living on a grand country estate will be quite an adjustment. And with the portrait of the previous owners looming over them, they have no idea where to start. They certainly won't find an ally in the snooty housekeeper, Mrs Dryden, who finds the Hardacres' presence in the house a personal affront.
Mary has no idea about running a big house, Sam can't imagine what a life of leisure looks like, and the life of a lady certainly doesn't seem like a natural fit for Liza. Ma and Joe take to their new life much more easily, though Joe isn't impressed by the rules of a gentleman. For Harry, this world looks much brighter, with his dreams of a proper education now within reach.
When the family meet their aristocratic neighbour, Lord George Fitzherbert – thanks to the antics of Ma's dog, Tinny – Mary is excited to make new friends, and she invites the Fitzherberts to a dinner party at the new ‘Hardacre Hall'.
The Hardacres get kitted up in clothes more befitting of their new station, and soon they at least look the part. But Sam struggles to say goodbye to the world of the docks, and though he reluctantly hands over the reins of the herring business to Saunders, he leaps at the opportunity to best Shaw.
The evening of the dinner party finally arrives, and George's icy wife, Lady Emma Fitzherbert, and minxy daughter Lady Adella are full of questions. Their suspicions of their new neighbour's pedigree make Mary feel insecure. Sam does his best to smooth things over but Liza and Ma don't see any point in pretending to be anything they're not. After a series of unwitting faux pas, an unexpected announcement lands and sets the cat amongst the pigeons.
