Eagerto 'steal' a snake-bitten young patient from Brick, Zoe gets Wade to drive her to the site to identify the species, but gets bitten by the copperhead herself while Brick treats the child. Wade openly laughs, other locals smile or look down when Zoe decides to enter the annual gumbo cooking contest, without any culinary experience. The New York 'sceret weapon' she counted on to cheat falls prey to the mayor's 'domestic' alligator and she hurts a hand while cleaning shrimp, but George goes behind his fiancée's back to help her shop ingredients. They are however called away to farmer Oscar Balderrama, whose limb is caught under a tipped-over field machine. To save the patient, who can't be moved safely, they must call Brick to operate with her expert instructions. He takes sole credit afterwards, yet rewards her.

Stubbornly, Zoe refuses to give in to Bluebell's tradition that during a heath wave, like now, all non-criminal inhibitions are suspended. Still, shirtless men and Wade's sensual dive soon get her doubting, ultimately to give in. Against George's wise advice to go for informal, fiancée lemon attempts to impress his once more short-visiting parents with a dinner, but mother Tucker incessantly spits implied criticism, while Brick and father Tucker bicker endlessly about sports, rooting for rival teams.

George Tucker carefully planned to recent a supermarket chain from moving in and kill off Bluebell small businesses by convincing all surrounding owners to refuse allowing an access road, but overlooked the smallest patch. It belongs to Wade's deadbeat father 'Crazy' Earl Kinsella, who always sponges on his sons, but could become financially independent by selling. Even with wade's expert advice, the mayor finds returning to dating hard as Didi refuses to acknowledge that he isn't even interested, rather tells everyone he's taken by her, so Wade must coach getting rid of her too. Lemon, who presides, revives an old rule that allows all members a day of hazing, but Zoe is determined to stick it out even if it kills her. After Zoe finally discovers she has local family, including a living aunt, she learns having the legacy right to join the prestigious Dixie Belles society's local chapter.

Veterinarian Judson Lyons accepts Zoe first asking him not to attend the town's annual Sweetie Pie dance 'too soon', then changing her mind after she notices even Rose manipulated her, but concludes she only really has eyes and thoughts for Wade and returns home. George realizes that he forgot mailing the wedding invitations out of Freudian frustration that Lemon spent all her time on vents since months, hardly any with him. A row with Brick leads to him and ultimately George learning she has been bottling up the frustration over her deserted mother. Zoe finally gets Wade to admit privately he has feelings for her, only to see him frolicking off with another easy date and the proceeds of a bet she wouldn't do it with Judson.

Wade accepts to help his latest conquest Joelle Sugarbaker appease her insanely jealous ex Ed by seducing a lookalike girl to pretend she's the one Ed saw dating Wade, but the ploy brings every party only grief. George accepts to defend popular local schoolteacher Eric Sunberg, who was fired after admitting during a school-related 'which celebrity am I' performance that he believes in aliens, like his obsessed wife Dotty. George hopes to plead a medical excuse and asks Zoe to find one. Zoe hesitates whether to help Didi trying to win back the mayor, hearing she found a picture o f lemon hidden in his home.

Bluebell has one of its rare snow episodes, pleasantly reminiscent of home to New Yorker Zoe, but believed to bring disaster by all natives. Wade does a poor job assuring the mayor it won't affect his parents' visit, when he wants to present Didi as his fiancée. Indeed, the senior Hayes couple announces its divorce, which is averted, but Didi bails out. George urges Lemon to seriously consider her impulsive suggestion to elope rather then have her elaborate dream wedding.