James finds that long hours and rough conditions can make a veterinary work a dog's life, but for some dogs, like Mrs. Pumphrey's Tricki-Wu, have it so well that they can afford to spread the wealth.

The veterinary practice goes from strength to strength, but James fears he has wrecked his chances with Helen after a disastrous first date. Tristan decides that a blind date is all James needs to hone his courtship skills.

The fortunes of the hard-working Dalby family look set to dwindle even further until almost by accident James discovers the cause of their herd's illness. However, James still needs a push start on other fronts, and Siegfried and Tristan decide to remedy matters with their own expert advice.

As James struggles to save the dairy herd in which a friend has sunk all his savings, he discovers a colleague's guilty secret.

The waiting room is packed at the Darrowby practice, but Siegfried seems more focused on catching his hard-drinking brother asleep on the job.

As the tractor threatens to do away with a way of life in the Dales, James battles to save a dying shire horse.

Siegfried waxes lyrical about the accelerating rate of scientific progress as James proceeds to plod along with tried and trusted remedies. How long can the practice and the surrounding countryside resist the oncoming tide of progress?

Calum Buchanan joins the practice along with his tame badger, Marylin. Pregnant ewes, the plumbing at Sceldale and Helen's lost engagement ring herald the new arrival.

Tristan has been appointed a fertility counselor for the Ministry of Agriculture. He and James are sent to Grimbsby to examine an export consignment Russian vets. The Russian woman vet lives up to Tristan's belief that all Russian women are built like discus-throwers.

James has a crisis of professional confidence while treating a cow with a new drug. Tristan tries to convince a local farmer of the virtues of artificial insemination but Siegfreid only succeeds in enraging the farmer's bull.

James has his eye on a little semi-detached property coming up for sale, with the notion it would make a pleasant surprise for Helen. Unknown to him, however, Helen has grander ideas. There is trouble from a local farmer, which

ironically leads Calum to celebrate his departure from the Herriot household.

The church fete looms for the Darrowby vets, along with the dreaded Scottish country dancing display. Can Tristan brush up his steps in time to woo the fair Deirdre? Or will his colleague Calum's back-to-nature approach sweep her off her feet?