An incident involving Peter, Greg, and a Frisbee inside the house leads to an antique lamp in Mike's den being broken. Alice is aware that the boys broke the lamp--which they try to repair--and they ask Alice to keep their secret from their parents, and she agrees. But when Carol discovers that the lamp has been broken, Alice is caught between this vow and the fact that she has never lied to Carol, so she feels that she must tell Carol the truth. Subsequently, Carol asks Alice a seemingly-innocent question about who used the record player and left it running all night, and Alice names Marcia. The boys and Marcia get punished for their deeds and feel that Alice has betrayed them, and all six give her the cold shoulder. Now feeling unloved and unwanted, the heartbroken Alice immediately quits, not even saying goodbye to the kids. When Alice's friend Kay takes her place, the kids discover that Kay has a less-emotional approach to being a live-in housekeeper, and when they have enough of that, they must figure out how to get their beloved Alice back.
—Huggo