In addition to being a mainstay of the local lifeboat crew Norman (Roger Lloyd Pack) has been the manager of the little pier theatre in his home seaside town for forty years, ever since he was a youngster. In those days, the venue played host to popular singers like the flamboyant Alma Cogan, meeting with whom Norman still fondly remembers. Now, however, the council, who owns the pier, wants to oust Norman in favor of younger, hipper management, and Norman plans to fight. Norman has long been supported by his loyal assistant Sandra (Niamh Cusack), a would-be singer, but she persuades him that perhaps it is time for him to go, and so he does, this time supporting Sandra as she begins a career as a singer.