Fresh out of New York's Columbia University, Dr. Joel Fleischman is looking forward to his comfortable position in Alaska's largest city. He has to repay his medical intern money by serving four years as a doctor there. Upon his arrival, Joel finds himself a fish-out-of-water as he's instead reassigned to the tiny village of Cicely, Alaska where the offbeat locals would love for him to stay forever.

Joel is still trying to figure out a way to get out of the fine print conditions of his scholarship, but still cannot find out how to do it. Still stuck in the eccentric Alaskan town of Cicely, Joel has opened his medical office where he is treating patients and getting to know the locals.