Valedictorian at New York med school, surgeon's daughter Zoe Hart declines an offer to join obscure Alabama Gulf town Bluebell's senior doctor Harley Wilkes to join his country practice, but he kept sending postcards. When she's told to get a year of practice experience to develop patient in order to be admitted to the surgical training, she finally accepts, to her mother Candice Hart's distress. Harley meanwhile died but named her heir to what's actually only his half of the practice which local Dr. Brick Breeland wanted to continue alone. Zoe hesitates whether to stay, appreciating helpful gentleman local lawyer George Tucker and ex-national sports hero Lavon Hayes, now the native mayor, but starting badly with womanizing estate caretaker Wade Kinsella and misled by her first patient who faked an eye test before running over George. Yet an unwanted pregnancy proves decisive.

Hoping it might help the residents of Bluebell accept her as one of their own, Zoe Hart agrees to join Mayor Lavon Hayes on his float during the Founder's Day Parade, but, unfortunately, accidentally crashing the float doesn't exactly help Zoe win over Lemon Breeland and the residents of Bluebell. To make matters worse, the town's golden boy, George Tucker, informs Zoe that contractually she needs to bring in thirty percent of the business or Dr. Brick Breeland will have the option to buy out her half of the medical practice.

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.

Zoe discovers something shocking about the local minister and his wife, causing quite a stir among the residents of Bluebell. Lemon is determined to find the funds to renovate the town's historic bridge that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but first she is put in the extremely awkward position of having to convince Lavon to choose her proposal over so many other worthwhile submissions.

In his playful way, Wade shows angelic patience with fickle Zoe's nocturnal fears, even spends a night on her bad couch. She not only crashes the mayor's borrowed car on a medical visit, but is convinced to have seen a fisherman whose portrait is on the pub's wall of deceased villagers. At examination, Leon Mercy, who seems to haunt her at night, was only reported missing, as she would have been looking for him in the wood hadn't Wade tracked them down. George finds the mayor unwilling to release on protected home for the happy couple to move into, but Lemon changes her mind about it after another incident with her unruly sister, which prompts George to make Brick face his parental duty.

Wade is pleasantly surprised by a visit from his ex, or to be: their marriage was never legally annulled, but now she wants to wed another. By the time Tucker has the papers done, Wade's agreeable agreement is withdrawn on account of the hated groom, Colt. Handsome, as pleasant as pleasing veterinarian Judson Lyons's perfect house call service gives him and Zoe opportunity to meet and plan a dinner date, but being out of the game for years after her single fiancé, she gets cold feet. The mayor is the only available sports celebrity to stand in for the Nascar star who was to present the town's annual turtle race, but not so willing to allow the traditional cheating in favor of eternal socialite winner Delia Ann Lee. Drunk Colton's armed effort to enforce a divorce proves painful for unfortunate mediator George.

Just before homecoming arrives Jimmy Praboo, who always pulled cruel pranks at Wade's and especially George's expense, so they vow revenge. Lemon initially protests at childishness, but is soon tempted to help them plot a 'smurf shower', which goes pear-shaped. The mayor has to fill in for the football coach, the first of a serious of apparent flu victims including the quarterback, but Zoe later diagnoses otherwise. Zoe is allowed to attempt socializing by taking over his pre-game party, but the New York buddy party planner she flies in takes over the Big Apple way, which pleases no local, nor even Zoe. Handsome veterinarian Dr. Judson Lyons generously gives Zoe another dating chance.

Brick pulls all the stops to prevent overconfident Zoe from reaching the 30% patients share required to stop him buying her out of the practice unilaterally. So she keeps delaying her flight to New York to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving, rather then Bluebell's 'pirates version' Planksgiving. Wade refuses to admit to the mayor he has an eye on Zoe, hence actually wants her to need his handyman help. George's brother moved out of the family law firm, so father Tucker expects George finally to become a senior partner, and makes that palatable by offering part-time work besides his Bluebell practice and a free city home. Lemon's reluctance to be forced to spend days a week with the Tucker parents melts down when mother suddenly makes up big time, but she finds out that's just a ploy.

The Christmas tree Wade promises George for the town square, from one of his many exes, is measly, so the boys set out to cut one from another ex together. Lack of actual owner agreement and Wade's lip to the sheriff lands the duo in jail for the night. Back home, Lemon trains kid sister Magnolia to become the next generation of Breeland Cinnamon pageant winners, but Zoe enters Rose, and the coaches rival more ruthlessly then the candidates can handle. Lemon is shocked to hear that her mother, who left years ago to pursue an acting career, landed back in Alabama and still never contacted Brick's family.

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, whom Zoe still hasn't forgotten or 'forgiven' for intimacy with her New York friend, is called in for a cat who probably contaminated owner Sal Nutter and his mystery mistress. George grudgingly allows Lemon, who wants to succeed Delia Ann Lee as the Belles' local Jubilee Memory matron, to invite her and her equally obnoxious husband, fellow lawyer Lawrence Lee, a far from gracious winner. The mayor is told the truth, as he and Wade suspect Zoe of hiding a lover: she hosts a secret friend, AnnaBeth, who doesn't dare tell bossy Lemon she's consorting with 'intruder', but takes assertiveness training from the New Yorker, who despite an ingrate twist covers for her in delightfully surprised Judson's favor.

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.

Everybody expected Bluebell's Man of the Year (MOTY) award to go to a usual suspect like Brick, but this time it's George. As the mayor finds hosting the traditional cocktail party in the MOTY's honor awkward, having secretly cheated don him with Lemon, Zoe offers to organize it for him and ends up covering his inability to hold the crucial congratulatory speech. Wade exceptionally extends his musical ambitions, so far reserved for a band which never happens, to writing a song to perform in George's honor with Magnolia, who begged him to do so. George decides, despite suspicious Lemon, to invite his father to proudly share in his hour of fame.

Zoe's father comes to Bluebell to perform a heart operation on George's father. She is conflicted about seeing him. Lemon befriends Zoe in hopes she will not tell George about seeing her with Lavon. Rammer Jammer hosts a drink competition.

George wonders if he really saw Lemon and Lavon kiss, and asks Zoe if she knows anything. Wade plans a fishing trip for George's bachelor party, and Magnolia plans a stripper party bus trip for Lemon's bachelorette party. Zoe dates a patient.

George is upset about Lemon's deception and drives off to New Orleans. He invites Zoe to go with him. They share their first kiss. Lemon has to tell Brick why the wedding is off. Wade wakes up in the morning without remembering the night.

Zoe is convinced she and George are meant to be but he thinks they should just be friends. Zoe and Wade, as well as George & Lemon are reluctantly paired for the Bluebell Battle. Rose goes on a date with Frederick. Lemon and George see a minister

Zoe misinterprets Rose's symptoms for love sickness, but is really a appendicitis. The town turns cold to Zoe. Lemon tries to win George back with a romantic dinner. Zoe's father visits Bluebell again, and Zoe considers leaving.

It's George and Lemon's wedding day, but George is still uncertain. A thunderstorm hits Bluebell and the town tries to keep everyone safe. Wade and Zoe are caught in a barn outside of town give into their emotions. George calls off the wedding.