As a relative newcomer to an Oregon town that bears his name, Dr. Mumford seems charming and skillful to his neighbors and patients. His unique, frank approach to psychotherapy soon attracts patients away from the two therapists already working in the area. Soon he is treating a variety of conditions, ranging from the obsession of one man with erotic novels to an unhappily married woman and her compulsive shopping. Mumford befriends a billionaire computer mogul and a cafe waitress and attempts to play matchmaker. He also begins to fall for a patient who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome. Together with an attorney (Martin Short) whom Mumford had rejected as a patient because of his narcissism, the rival therapists conspire to find skeletons in Mumford's closet, hoping to destroy his reputation. Meanwhile, Mumford's inherent likability causes his life to become intertwined with much of the rest of the town.