Cynthia Walling has arranged for the chimneys to be swept before the imminent arrival of her mother, who, it turns out, knows rather more about the ensuing events than she lets on. From the moment Seamus Flaherty, the wily Irish chimney sweep, arrives,

things go from bad to catastrophic for Cynthia’s husband, Henry, as he glumly watches his stock of whisky rapidly diminish. Despite his best attempts to cover-up, the chimney reveals too many events from the past to avoid madness and mayhem.