Having completed his medical residency in a Washington, D.C. hospital, Dr. Benjamin "Ben" Stone drives to Beverly Hills for a job interview with noted plastic surgeon Dr. Halberstrom. While passing through Grady, South Carolina, Ben crashes into a fence to avoid hitting a cow. The fence belongs to Judge Evans, who then sentences him to 32 hours of community service at the town's medical clinic. Mayor Nick Nicholson and a reception committee greet Ben, hoping to hire him to replace Dr. Aurelius Hogue, who is planning to retire. While his 1956 Porsche Speedster is being repaired, Ben tends to patients and flirts with ambulance driver Vialula (better known as "Lou"), a single mother of a four-year-old daughter. Local insurance agent Hank Gordon also courts Lou, while Nancy Lee, the mayor's daughter, pursues Ben.