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.