Patty Lane is a normal, chatty, rambunctious teenager living in the Brooklyn Heights section of New York City. Her father Martin is the editor-in-chief of the New York Chronicle. Patty's niece on her father's side Cathy looks just like her, but is a lot more civilized and subdued. Cathy's father and Martin's twin brother Kenneth also work for the Chroncile, as a foreign correspondent in Scotland. Cathy moves to the US to live with Patty's family and attend the same school as Patty. Their physical resemblance gives rise to many misunderstandings.