Frances O'Brian, Head Librarian, is having a hellish time of it. And for once it's not all of her making. Frances' mother, suffering from both dementia and a really horrible personality, lands on the O'Brien doorstep. Adding to her woes, morale at the Middleton Interactive Learning Centre is at a new all time low. In order to stay open, the library is forced to run as a business and return an annual profit. As the staff has a hard enough time enforcing the return of a book, this latest initiative could spell the end of the library.