Plead at home to make a start (5)
I believe the answer is:
begin
'make a start' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'plead at home' is the wordplay.
'plead' becomes 'beg' (begging is a kind of pleading).
'at home' becomes 'in' ('I'm in' can mean 'I'm at home').
'beg'+'in'='BEGIN'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for begin that I've seen before include "former Israeli Nobel peace prize winner" , "Make a start" , "Found" , "Launch" , "Clandestine, furtive" .)