 When Mrs. Crandell goes on a summer vacation to Australia, she leaves her 5 kids Sue Ellen, Kenny, Zach, Melissa, and Walter in the care of an elderly but cruel babysitter, Mrs. Sturak. When Mrs. Sturak dies, the kids load her body in a trunk and deposit the trunk on the front step of the local funeral home. The kids are ecstatic because they think that with the big wad of cash their mom has left behind, they can have a summer of consumer madness. But when they discover that the money has been buried with Mrs. Sturak, the kids have to fend for themselves to make ends meet. 17-year-old Sue Ellen tries working at a fast food restaurant, but she can t stand the grease, so she puts together a false resume and, posing as a woman in her 20s, she applies for a job as a receptionist at a garment manufacturing company. The company s vice president, Rose Lindsey, is so impressed by her resume that she hires her on the spot as her executive assistant. Her deception looks to be working out great -- Sue Ellen manages to hold off the office lady killer Gus, avoids exposure by the embittered receptionist, borrows money from the company s petty cash box for household incidentals, and continues a relationship with restaurant employee Bryan. But suddenly, the garment firm is set to go under, and Sue Ellen must use her teen fashion sense to save the company and her job, and she has to get her siblings involved.