Clive Peacock is a postman in a small seaside town in Dorset. He's happy in his job and doesn't want it to change. But new technology is being introduced in his sorting office. Since he can't drive, and since deliveries by bicycle are deemed to be "old fashioned", he is offered early retirement. But he doesn't want to retire. On his last day, he collects the post from the pillar box... and decides to deliver it by hand himself as a protest. And so he starts out on a long journey by bike all around Britain, delivering each letter personally. He is hotly pursued by the police (who want to arrest him for "stealing Her Majesty's mail") and by the media (who see a great human interest story and turn him into a celebrity). But he manages to stay one step ahead of them, making many friends along the way.