Everyone is trying to get along as best they can in the face of changes at Skeldale House. Helen has moved into the bedsit upstairs with James and though they're happy, she's unsure how to integrate herself into the rest of the house. No-one sees this more than Mrs Hall, who is keen to find a way to bring everyone together around the dinner table. James struggles to get Siegfried to let him take the reins now that he's junior partner at the practice. With Helen's help, James learns how much money Skeldale could make from the Ministry of Agriculture's lucrative bovine TB testing scheme, but Siegfried believes the MAG's scheme is more trouble than it's worth and risks damaging their relationships with farmers. He digs his heels in and a rift forms between the two vets. It takes Helen, Mrs Hall and a case of some mysteriously poisoned calves at farmer Kate Billings' to help James and Siegfried see that they're better when they work together. A lackadaisical Tristan thinks that James being his boss will make his life even more of a breeze. He learns that he needs to step up in his role at the practice and take it more seriously, when the dog of a rival is rushed into the surgery in an emergency and no-one is there to help him.