The trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire town to begin his first job.

Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...

After her live-in boyfriend of five years leaves, aerobic teacher Jenny Russell gets involved in an on-off relationship with neurotic estate agent Larry.

In the wake of their mother's death, two small boys are held captive to their father's grief. But when their mother's last wish heralds the arrival of their estranged grandmother, their fierce independence sets in motion a household power struggle that threatens to confront the ghosts of the past.

It's Laura's first job and she is anxious to do well, but her instinctive empathy with the elderly people in her care puts her in conflict with her colleagues.