It's 1977, and fifteen-year-old Lizzie Vogel is working in an old people's home. The place is in chaos, and it's not really a suitable job for a schoolgirl - she'd only gone for the job because it seemed too exhausting to commit to being a full-time girlfriend or a punk. She's also distracted by her family's financial troubles, keeping up with schoolwork, and deciding which brand of shampoo to use. When a rival old people's home opens, offering better parking and daily 'chairobics', business at Paradise Lodge takes a turn for the worse, and everyone must chip in to save the home before it's too late - from the crazed Matron, to the assertively shy nurse who only communicates via little grunts, to the very attractive son of the Chinese takeaway manager.