First off, this book is a hundred times better than the horrible movie they made out of it. This is the story of a young doctor on his to way to L.A. from Miami to do his residency. On the way, his car breaks down in a small town in Alabama. When the townsfolk learn that he is a doctor, they plead with him to help at their woefully understaffed hospital. This book is hilarious and poignant at turns. There are numerous hilarious situations involving the townspeople at the hospital, the funniest involving a traveling circus that gets the flu. But Shulman also shows a town that is in serious decline and unwilling to die without a fight. A great book.