Duane accidentally breaks a vase while playing football in the house. Richard sees that his son's attempting to make money, so he invites him to come to work at Preston Reality. But a misunderstanding leads to Duane selling the family's house. So it's up to Ethel and Mr. Divine to prove to the buyers that their dream home is really haunted.

Richard has to go out of town, so he reluctantly leaves Duane as the man of the house. After Duane traps Lissy on her inversion table, a practical joke war between the siblings ensues... Meanwhile, Ethel has to leave to take her Angel Progress Examination. Things go awry when a burglar shows up at the Preston home and the kids assume it's just another practical joke.

Richard thinks he is getting old, so Ethel hatches an outrageous exercise and diet scheme that convinces him to stop worrying about it.

After being rear-ended by Polly Sue Pickwood, Richard invites her home for dinner, unaware that she's a business competitor's spy. Meanwhile, Lissy stages a protest against sexism in her school.

When Richard spends the morning being a general crab, Ethel suggests that he needs to make changes in his life and go out and date. So when Richard arrives home with a smile on his face and announces that he's in love with someone he sees every day, Ethel thinks Richard has fallen in love with her. Further complications ensue when the entire family makes preparations for Cousin Delia's wedding, which Ethel knows nothing about.

Rivalry develops between Ethel and Aunt Roz, Richard's flamboyant, world-traveling sister, as they vie for the children's attention. Soon Ethel finds that ""Duane is applying for a passport, Lissy is running around half naked, Jay Jay is full of bon-bons"" and Auntie Roz is planning to stay for good.

Duane becomes a megalomaniac when he runs for class president.

Duane is recklessly charging expensive things on the credit card in preparation for the school formal -- a formal that Lissy is protesting because the girls aren't allowed to wear pants. Jay Jay ignores Ethel's wishes and Richard won't get off of the telephone. Ethel thinks that the Prestons would be better off if she quit, so Mr. Divine lets her peek 30 years into the future and see what the Prestons' fate would be without her in this take on ""It's a Wonderful Life.""

When Richard brings a client home for dinner, Ethel realizes that she was the man's housekeeper when he was a little boy in the 1920's. To complicate matters, Lissy needs a chaperone for her school's 1920's-theme dance, and Alistair agrees to chaperone... with Ethel as his date. Ethel starts having genuine feelings for Alistair, so Mr. Divine intervenes and tells her that she must break it off.

When Ethel has to order groceries on the home computer, she accidentally orders ten of everything and must hide the mountain of groceries from the family.

When the Prestons are stuck inside due to bad weather, Ethel comes up with games to have fun.

Ethel mistakenly thinks Richard is trying to kill Lissy.

Ethel is sent Down to Earth to help the Preston's family, as a maid. Richard is skeptical of hiring her, but she talks him into it, which is something she seems to be very good at. She's is confused in the kitchen, making a mess on her first day. J.J. comes in and helps her out. He asks why she doesn't know this. She can't tell him she's an angel, the words. So she shows him in cherades, and 'snaps' herself into the fridge for proof, and J.J. agrees to keeping it a secret. Richard comes in a little later, and the kitchen is a still disaster, but Ethel's able to calm him down and keep her job. The family is in complete chaos, as has been the usual since Margret, Richard's wife, died. Ethel has just enough time to clean up before eveyone goes to bed. She sits alone in her room and celebrates it alone.