Why will visitors always give short notice, think the three Misses Bardell, when one morning they receive a letter announcing the arrival of their Aunt Lydia in the afternoon. All is hustle and bustle, for, although they have never seen the old lady, they know she is a particular housekeeper and their own house is upside down. The maid declines to be hustled about by three people at once and leaves in a huff. In despair the sisters ‘phone to an employment agency for a maid and anxiously await her arrival. It does not occur to them to tidy the house themselves. Aunt Lydia, dressed very simply and plainly, arrives at the house and is mistaken for the expected maid. She is given a countless number of tasks to do all at once and starts cleaning up. While she is sweeping the steps, the real maid arrives and is coaxed by Aunt Lydia to impersonate her. The maid, as Aunt Lydia, is received right well by the girls, who shower her with kindnesses in spite of the fact that she drinks out of a saucer and makes other similar mistakes. Behind her back, the girls make fun of her, disgusting the real aunt, who is waiting on them as maid. The manner of the girls becomes so overbearing that the real aunt discloses her identity, telling the girls that her money will be left to charity, she departs, taking the maid with her.