Life for a newly qualified vet like James Herriot is not at all easy. He travels all the way to Darrowby, Yorkshire to secure a job, but by the time his prospective employer, Siegfried Farnon, turns up for the interview, James has fallen asleep!

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.

Sigfried declares that the business is in shambles financially, and his solution is Miss Harbuncle, a meticulous secretary who rules the cash box with an iron hand. Amid a relentless succession of new faces - man gruff, some eccentric - James meets the lovely Helen Alderson.

Siegfried has a major victory, and his brother Tristan has to deal with pigs in more ways than one. James discovers he has a rival for Helen's affections.

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.

James musters the courage to visit Helen after she's seen him at his worst. Siegfried resorts to sorcery to aid a gypsy's ailing pony, and a wild ghost chase solves the mystery of the shrouded figure haunting Raine Abbey.

James' temper is fraying fast -- what with two car accidents in the space of a week, an inauspicious meeting with Helen's family and his rival still lurking around Helen like a "big glossy spider".

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.

James and Helen's wedding day has finally arrived, though their honeymoon destination couldn't have been further from the Mediterranean. Finally, Siegfried bestows the best wedding present of all.

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

Having failed his exams, Tristan fears his brother's wrath. In a desperate effort to reform, Tristan shuns cigarettes, alcohol and women and adopts a rigorous routine of dawn runs and hard work.

Siegfried discovers that a gift given in good faith has brought the deadly foot-and-mouth disease to the dales, and James accidentally hits upon a "sleep cure" for Mrs. Flaxton's poodle.