When a London surgeon develops an aversion to blood, he leaves the city to become the doctor for a rural fishing village.

Once a successful London surgeon, Dr. Martin Ellingham is now a general practitioner in the idyllic Cornish fishing village of Portwenn, where he is every bit as eccentric as the villagers he serves.

As a hard-charging London surgeon, Martin Ellingham didn't need a bedside manner. His patients were unconscious, so he could be as rude and arrogant as he pleased. All that changes when he develops a crippling fear of blood and is forced to give up surgery. Now a GP in a sleepy, picturesque Cornish fishing village, Doc Martin offends everyone in town, including the one person he wants to impress, beautiful teacher Louisa Glasson. Getting her attention...