James Herriot arrives in the Yorkshire town of Darrowby to be interviewed for a job as a vet. With work hard to come by in 1936, James arrives only to find that his prospective employer seems to have completely forgotten about the appointment.

Siegfried's younger brother, Tristan, returns to Darrowby after failing his vet exams. James pays a visit to Mrs Pumphrey to assess the health of her beloved dog, Tricki Woo, and also checks on Mr Dean's dog too.

Siegfried employs Miss Harbottle to be a secretary for the surgery, but things do not go to plan when ordinary routine is shattered. Meanwhile, James meets Helen Alderson and treats a calf for a broken leg.

Siegfried wins a major victory, Tristan is put on pig duty after a spell of drunkenness leads Siegfried to worry he is becoming lazy, and James discovers he has a rival in his pursuit of Helen Alderson.

Tristan offers James advice for his date with Helen, but their evening at a fine hotel does not go well. Later, Tristan arranges a double date for him with two local girls, but things once again take a turn for the worse.

Helen brings her dog to the surgery and James musters up the courage to ask her on another date. However, their romantic trip to the cinema begins to go wrong when the film is swapped at the last minute.