In 1959, Jeffrey Fairbrother, a professor at Cambridge University's archaeology department, has grown tired of academic life and decided to apply as the new entertainment manager for Maplin's Essex holiday camp.
As the entertainment staff of Maplin's prepare for their involvement in the annual Crimpton-on-Sea carnival parade, Fairbrother is shocked when the dean of his college turns up.
But Gladys soon regrets this, especially when she jumps to conclusions regarding her half-brother; when he arrives at the camp around the same time, there is a Peeping Tom disturbing the female staff and campers.
At the same time, Partridge is facing trouble for his recent drunken hijinx, and so decides to rat out the group for their actions, only to get Fairbrother and Gladys into a bit of a problem.
The local vicar announces to Fairbrother that he will no longer lead any further Sunday services at the camp, owing to Maplin's increasingly bizarre suggestions that he cannot abide with.
Ted looks forward to a visit to Maplins' home office in London in hopes he will become entertainment manager of the camp, as some new Yellowcoat girls turn up to help with the new season.
A mistaken belief in the letter leads then to wrongly assume he is there to spy on the staff and report any of them who are conducting rackets, prompting Spike to shut them down to avoid everyone being fired.
Not happy with this, Ted and Spike chance upon a promising entertainer at the beach, Sammy Morris, and offer him a job at the camp once they clean him up, but things do not go to plan as they hope.