 Oliver Wendell Douglas, a Manhattan attorney who has long desired to become a farmer, buys a rundown farm sight unseen from con man Eustice Haney. Upon his return to New York he packs up his things and drags his socialite Hungarian wife Lisa to Hooterville. There, along with his hired hand Eb he tries to build the farm into a useful venture. In the meantime, Lisa becomes acclamated to her surroundings and attempts to bring some form of civility to the backwoods neighbors and even strikes up a friendship with Arnold, the pet pig of Fred Ziffel, who treats Arnold like a son.