Alan Hunter proves to be a perfectionist when it comes to endings, Jen starts to question whether there's a future in her relationship, and Colin rushes to the hospital when Des calls with bad news about his father. Colin tries to shut things out by keeping himself as busy as possible, Jen suggests going on a relaxing holiday to get away from it all, and a trip to the 'best restaurant in the world' proves to be a stressful experience. The central character, Colin Watkins, is a neurotic man in his mid-thirties. By day he works in a dead-end job for the now defunct British Rail in their complaints department. He frequently has to listen all day (and attempt to appease) a combination of complainants and abusive customers. At the time the series was broadcast, British Rail had a poor reputation for its performance. While the job involves mundane tasks such as photocopying and dealing with customers, Colin dreams of being a horror author. Colin lives alone in a top-floor flat though his girlfriend Jenny and best friend Des often share time with him there. Jenny and Colin are revealed to have met at university and share a sexual relationship – though there is no reference to any permanence in the relationship. Colin is portrayed as a neurotic who often turns to alcohol (whisky or white wine) in times of trouble and or success. Jenny is much more down-to-earth and, while she enjoys Colin's company, she is a stable figure in his life. All in all, Colin tries to do the right thing in the numerous situations he ends up in (being bored by friends' endless dreary dinner parties, finding a dead cat and returning it to its owner, going on holiday while continually fretting about leaving appliances on in his flat). However, Colin is often conflicted and has a borderline depressive attitude to life – brought about in one episode by his colleague leaving British Rail for pastures new who encourages Colin to do the same. In Series 1, the long-running plot involves Colin submitting one of his few finished novels to John Langley, a tough publisher who includes it in his compilation of horror short stores.