In November 1945 corporals Harvey Moon and Lou Lewis return to London from Bombay, where they sat out the war as stores clerks. Harvey's house has been destroyed - not by a bomb but his wife; Rita's incompetence with the gas cooker; and his family have moved to a pre-fab.

Harvey decides to spend a Saturday with Stanley and take him to watch the Arsenal play football. However, since Harvey went away the team's ground has been turned into a bedding centre and they are sharing a pitch with Spurs - the crowning insult for Harvey, who refuses to set foot in an enemy ground.

Harvey and Lou go to Bedfordshire to get officially demobbed, where Harvey, a non-smoker, uses his cigarette allowance to get Lou off a charge.

Harvey is not happy when Lou brings home a stack of black market sugar. He is no happier when the Labour Exchange get him a job as a stores clerk and he learns that Stanley is truanting. When he learns that Stanley only goes to school when there are sweet desserts he finds a solution for two of his problems, and quits his job to solve the third.

To reward head mistress Harriet for giving Stanley extra work to get him into grammar school, Harvey Harriet to an upmarket restaurant but feels out of his depth and walks out.

With Christmas approaching Harvey is anxious to get Stanley a bike courtesy of one of Lou's spiv friends and works long hours as a department store Santa to get the money, though Stanley runs back to his mother after seeing Harvey kiss Harriet.