Veterinarian and part-time mayor Sarah (Ann Jillian) heads a town council desperate to find a doctor to keep open the small town's clinic. They fear, rightly, that family after family will move away and the town will disappear. Their hopes are raised when Bob (Jack Palance) announces his widower son Michael the surgeon (Robert Hays) and grand daughter are going to visit for the first time in years for the Chistmas holiday. The mayor's attempt to recruit Michael is complicated by their history (their high school romance) and his secret shame (that he has lost his confidence in his surgical skills to the point that his big city hospital is kicking him upstairs to an administrative position).