 James Herriot, a newly qualified vet, arrives in the village of Darrowby for a job interview with Sigfried Farnon. Things get off to an inauspicious start when it seems that Sigfried is away for the afternoon and his housekeeper, Mrs. Hall, knows nothing of his visit. Sigfried eventually arrives, full of apologies for having forgotten and they set off on a series of calls. James gets to try his hand at treating a lame horse and a cow suffering from mastitis and to his great pleasure, is offered the job. In his first full day on the job however, James is called out to Lord Hulton s farm treat one of his best horses. James  diagnosis is twisted bowel and the horse is put down. The farm manager, Soames, swears he ll sue if the post-mortem shows James to be incorrect.