Joel Fleischman is fresh out of medical college, and fresh out of luck. Failing to read the fine print in his scholarship conditions, he finds he has no choice but to move to the remote and somewhat eccentric town of Cicely, in the wilds of Alaska.

Joel attempts to treat Ed's uncle, an Native American medicine man who rejects modern methods.

Maggie admires Joel when he proposes donating some recently inherited land back to the Indians, until she discovers his true motive.

Holling leaves an expectant Shelly waiting at the altar; Joel convinces some Japanese investors to buy his way out of Cicely.

A flu epidemic in Cicely spoils Joel's romantic reunion with his visiting fiancée, Elaine, who is befriended by Maggie.

A shocked Holling learns that Shelly is married when her husband arrives in Cicely to ask for a divorce. Plus, Ed attempts to write a blockbuster movie.