After spending the summer in New York City, Zoe is ready to make her move more permanent, but first she must return to BlueBell for one last thing. Upon her return Zoe, discovers that no one in town is very happy to see her, except for Lavon. Desperate for Brick to give her a good reference, she agrees to help him track down George and get him to resurrect the Founders Day parade that has been canceled. Needing to find George quickly, Zoe enlists Lemon’s help but accidentally discovers Lemon is hiding a dirty little secret. Meanwhile, Lemon also devises a plan to help Wade save face in front of Zoe.

Lavon and AnnaBeth invite Zoe and Joel (Josh Cooke) to dinner; Lemon meets Alabama's most eligible bachelor (Ryan McPartlin); George makes a bad decision that could impact his friendship with Lavon.

Zoe secretly starts to see patients again in BlueBell; Lavon tries to bring a minor league baseball team to town; George needs Zoe's help with a medical situation.

Zoe tries to improve the town's perception of Joel; George is pleasantly surprised with Lynly; Lavon is desperate to be part of the Gazebos of Alabama calendar.

When Zoe and Joel look for a more permanent residence, they find a place owned by one of Zoe's relatives; Lemon receives a tempting offer; George and Lynly's connection grows.

Zoe beings to grow leery of how much time Joel and Wade hang out, especially when it begins to interfere with Joel's writing. Ready to blame it all on Wade, Zoe does her best to entice Joel back into writing. Lavon is using the excuse of coaching his track team to avoid talking to AnnaBeth. Meanwhile, Lemon encourages Brick to start dating again. George and Lynly discuss whether they want to talk to Lavon about their feelings for each other.

When Zoe finds herself treating her uncle, she takes a chance and invites him to the Hanukkah celebration that she is hosting. However, this lands her in trouble once again with Vivian Wilkes. Lemon enlists George and Lynly to help uncover crucial information about one of Brick's exes before he does anything rash. Meanwhile, Wade has a horrible toothache but refuses to go to the dentist, until Tansy intervenes and helps him to open his eyes to his future.

When Zoe learns that Wade is interested in dating someone close to her, she tries everything she can do to put a stop to it. Lavon enlists George to help save BlueBell from merging with another town. To help keep the town in the dark about the planned merger, Zoe uses Joel and AnnaBeth to create a scandalous distraction to throw people off the trail. Meanwhile, Brick starts dating again, but finds himself in a tough predicament when someone from his past resurfaces.

When Brick is asked to help with the local cabaret, he nominates Zoe to save the day. Lavon feels defeated about the possible merger with Fillmore, so it is left up to AnnaBeth and Lemon to motivate him to put up one last fight. Lynly continues to become more jealous of George's close friendship with Tansy, and keeps a close on eye him. Meanwhile, Wade is excited about his new romance, but grows concerned when he notices that she is pulling away.

In a last ditch effort to stop the merger, enlists the entire town's help to try and convince the Lt. Governor that BlueBell should be named a historic town. Zoe and Joel continue to debate where to live, but the best option lies with Zoe's relative, who does not like New Yorkers. Wade takes a big step in his relationship by meeting Vivian's son, but he soon realizes he has a long way to go to win him over. Meanwhile, Lynly is having some trust issues with George, which starts to create tension between them.