The appointment of a new Bishop is unwelcome in the cosy cloisters of Norchester Cathedral. Selwyn is filled with horror at the impending arrival of Bishop Godfrey Hethercote whose reputation is as an outspoken socialist with highly controversial views on the Church's role in society.
Selwyn is outraged when Godfrey presses him to adopt a more modern approach to the cathedral's congregation. Playgroups, family services and a cup of coffee after matins are not Selwyn's style at all. However, a chance encounter with a nubile teenager starts to alter Selwyn's ideas about young people.
When a homeless young couple see Bishop Godfrey Hethercote on television they are so impressed with his radical views that they pitch a tent in the south transept of the cathedral and set up home with their baby, determined to stay there until their plight is publicised by the press. Dean Selwyn Makepeace has other ideas.
Selwyn is beside himself with joy when the bones of St Winifred, the cathedral's patron saint, are rediscovered in the ruins of the old abbey. Not surprisingly, the Bishop is rather sceptical about their authenticity.
Scandal threatens Norchester Cathedral when one of its vergers and the clerk to the chapter are discovered drinking in a gay club. Selwyn takes his life in his hands as the verger threatens to jump off the Town Hall roof.
Selwyn feels that a woman's place is in the home but when faced with Emma's feminist views and a broken engagement he decides he simply doesn't understand modern women. He turns to Emma for advice.