After his wife is killed in a car accident, Dr Andrew Brown moves his fifteen-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter to the idyllic environs of Everwood to make a new start. The relocation sparks harsh words and hurt feelings between the emotionally distant father and his neglected son, despite the doctor's attempts to reconnect with the teen.

Andy and Ephram's relationship is further strained when it appears that Andy is once again putting his work before his family, and the town celebrates its annual Fall Thaw Festival.

Dr Brown and his son deliver a neighbour's baby, Amy attempts to curry favour with her friends by uninviting Ephram to her party, and Delia tries to befriend the school bully.

Dr Brown and Abbott must put aside their differences to treat several teens with a sexually transmitted disease and to educate the townspeople. Also, Abbott suspects his son has been intimate with one of the patients.

After a lost deer makes the Browns' backyard its new home, Andy insists on accompanying Ephram who decides to help the animal find its way home.

Amy is heartbroken and Ephram is furious after Andy decides against performing a risky operation on Amy's comatose boyfriend.