The episode opens at St Pancras railway station, with a voice-over of the titular character Norman Stanley Fletcher being sentenced to five years in prison.
Fletcher soon finds out that his prison escort Mr Mackay is very strict and doesn't allow him to read his paper.
It turns out that Mr Mackay is unhappy about having to do a prison escort on New Year's Eve.
In the North of England, McKay and Barrowclough take Fletcher into a prison van for the next part of their journey.
Fletcher offers Barrowclough some whisky, which he claims "fell out of Mr Mackay's pocket".
Due to the darkness, Fletcher goes round in circles, and is severely disappointed to discover that he ends up back at the cottage with Barrowclough.