Sheffield 1982. Married mum of one Stephanie sees an ad in the local paper ‘Ann Summers Demonstrators required to run parties selling exotic lingerie. FOR LADIES ONLY. Earn £30-£40 for an evening's work' – this could be what she's looking for. Whilst taking her son, Dean to his first day at school, Steph meets Nita – a no-nonsense mother of four, who's also struggling with her financial situation.
Lonely Pauline is considering adding a macrame owl to her craft folder whilst waiting for her cleaner, Steph to arrive. Her husband Brian is at his business, Spake's Butchers, reprimanding his apprentice Russell and fiancée Dawn for snogging each other's faces off when there's the scrag end to sort. Steph waits for her husband Terry to come home so she can tell him about the Ann Summers ad, but Terry has been laid off from his factory job. He's hostile even to the idea of her resorting to selling "sex stuff".
Steph arrives at her local Community Centre where the advertised Ann Summers recruitment event is due to start. Just as Steph is about to bottle it, she bumps into Nita who drags her into the hall where they find out its more than just exotic lingerie that will be sold – Steph feels that she doesn't have the confidence to run the parties – Nita says they should give it a go.
That evening at the pub, Steph and Terry are with their friends, Lisa and Barry. Steph sounds out Lisa about hosting a party, Lisa describes sales work as ‘desperate'. Terry is tempted to invest an a cab business but it'll cost him fifty quid, money he doesn't have. Steph finds out that Terry is finalising his cab deal and is upset - where did he get the money from. Steph asks Pauline if she'd be willing to host a party at her house. Pauline is mortified. That evening before dinner, as Pauline takes in her lonely surroundings and a social life that revolves around her husband she has a change of heart before heading to the kitchen where she's got "A bird to baste".
At the party, Pauline is on edge and to her shock, the councillor's conservative wife, Bunny and her daughter, Hellie, an old school friend of Steph's turn up. During the marital aids demonstration an appalled Bunny storms out at the sight of "The Stallion" but how does everyone else feel?
Terry's at the pub and loses at a game of darts where he was trying to win the money to invest in the cab. His best mate Barry's girlfriend Lisa tries to console him. Whilst at the bar, Russell lets slip to him that Dawn is at a party hosted by his boss, Brian's wife, and that their cleaner is selling sexy underwear and marital aids. Terry is furious when he realises Steph has gone behind his back.
PC Johnny Daniels and PC Rob arrive at the Spake's residence; they've had a call complaining about the activities at Pauline's. Just as Steph and the other women are talking to the policemen, Nita collapses and is rushed to hospital, but why? Back at Pauline's, Dawn is left in charge of the party and decides she's going to sign up as a demonstrator as well. Hellie is also considering it. Brian arrives home and is shocked at what he has walked into.
When Steph arrives home she finds an angry Terry waiting for her. Across town, Pauline is furious at Brian's objections to the party and Pauline explains that she feels utterly trapped in her world. He's taken aback, he had never realised she was unhappy.
The morning after the night before: Steph lies with the bed empty next to her, meanwhile Nita is back at home contemplating her situation and Brian assumes Pauline has got all this party business out of her system.
Steph goes to Barry's house in the hopes of finding Terry, but little does she know that her whole life is about to be turned upside down…
Written by TonyMayhew on Jul 2, 2016