At Home in Mitford

Father Tim Kavanagh, the nearly 60-year-old bachelor rector of Lord's Chapel in Mitford, has followed the same routine for twelve years. His days consist of hospital calls, breakfast at the Main Street Grill, and work at his church office. Feeling emotionally and physically exhausted, he writes to his old seminary friend, Bishop Stuart Cullen, confessing his burnout and the sense that his sermons have grown lifeless. Two months later, the bishop's handwritten reply advises Father Tim to take better care of himself and to hang in there for another year or two.

A large, mud-caked black dog begins appearing around town, greeting Father Tim with boisterous enthusiasm. Despite his initial annoyance, Father Tim starts leaving food for the dog in his garage. One evening, the dog makes its way into the rectory study. As Father Tim reads Wordsworth aloud, the dog listens attentively, inspiring the rector to name him Barnabas. Father Tim's friend Hal Owen, a veterinarian, identifies Barnabas as a mix of sheep dog, Irish wolfhound, and Bouvier. Father Tim soon discovers that Barnabas is immediately calmed by the recitation of Scripture, a tool he uses to control the dog's overwhelming greetings, much to the surprise of his secretary, Emma Garrett, and parishioner Miss Sadie Baxter.

Miss Sadie, an elderly and wealthy parishioner, donates an old painting of the Madonna and Child that she found in her attic. Harry Nelson, the senior warden, speculates it could be a valuable Vermeer. This sparks a rumor that spreads through Mitford, with the painting's supposed value escalating into the millions and causing Father Tim significant stress. An appraiser recommends sending the painting to experts in New York. Months later, the appraiser returns with the verdict, the painting is a 17th-century work worth around seven or eight thousand dollars, not a Vermeer. Father Tim and Miss Sadie are greatly relieved.

Following a period of post-Easter fatigue, Father Tim has a dizzy spell at his office. Emma takes him to the hospital, where Dr. Walter "Hoppy" Harper diagnoses him with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Hoppy prescribes a strict diet, regular jogging, and a reduced workload, including a real vacation. Father Tim buys jogging suits and embraces his new routine. For his 60th birthday, his friends and parishioners gift him a red Vespa motor scooter. Feeling renewed, he decides to host a dinner party.

Father Tim invites Emma, Hal and Marge Owen, Hoppy Harper, and Miss Sadie to his dinner party. The first to arrive, however, are two uninvited guests, the eccentric elderly couple Miss Rose and Uncle Billy Watson. During the evening, Miss Sadie recounts the story of her youth, when she studied in Paris and fell in love with a young man from Mitford named Willard Porter, who is Miss Rose's brother.

Several new people enter Father Tim's life. Concerned for his health, the vestry arranges for house help, and Puny Bradshaw, a highly efficient young woman, is hired as his housekeeper. The church sexton, Russell Jacks, returns to Mitford with his grandson, a rough, red-haired boy named Dooley Barlowe, whose mother is poorly. Emma confides that she is falling in love with the postman, Harold Newland. Uncle Billy reveals his talent for drawing and his fear of homelessness should Miss Rose, who is schizophrenic, die first, as her family home was willed to the town. Andrew Gregory, owner of the Oxford Antique Shop, frames Uncle Billy's drawings for a successful show. A beautiful woman, Olivia Davenport, begins attending Lord's Chapel and confides in Father Tim that she is dying from a rare heart condition. He suggests she read to hospital patients, a ministry she embraces. Cynthia Coppersmith, a children's book author, moves in next door, and she and Father Tim begin a friendship after a chaotic first meeting involving her cat, Violet, and Barnabas.

A series of strange events unfolds at the church. Father Tim finds the side door lock broken. Later, a sandwich, sacramental wine, and a parishioner's cake go missing from the parish hall refrigerator. His personal Bible also vanishes from the pulpit. While cleaning the columbarium closet, Father Tim discovers an urn filled with sacks of valuable jewels. Unsettled, he puts them back, deciding to report the discovery after Christmas. When he later retrieves the urn to show Police Chief Rodney Underwood, it is empty. A search of the church attic reveals only a fresh Almond Joy wrapper, which police find contains only Father Tim's fingerprints, suggesting the intruder wore gloves.

During a Sunday service, a bearded stranger named George Gaynor descends from the attic stairs. He confesses to the congregation that he is a fugitive who stole millions in jewels from a museum in England and has been secretly living in the church belfry for months. He hid the jewels in an urn, moving them around the church periodically to avoid discovery. He then recounts his conversion, he overheard Father Tim counseling another man in the nave and prayed the prayer of salvation along with them. After his confession, George is arrested and later baptized by Father Tim in the Mitford jail.

When Russell Jacks is hospitalized with severe pneumonia, Father Tim takes Dooley to live at the rectory. Dooley gets into a fight at school for defending Father Tim's honor. Father Tim learns that Dooley's mother is an alcoholic who gave up all five of her children, leaving Dooley heartbroken. On Christmas Day, Dooley runs away on his new bicycle to find his mother, who sends him back to Mitford. Despite his difficult behavior, a strong bond forms between the boy and the rector.

While on a walk, Barnabas is violently pulled into a car and kidnapped. The license plate reads VAT 7841. The town starts a reward fund that grows to over three thousand dollars. Homeless Hobbes, a man living by the creek, discovers Barnabas tied up at a remote house occupied by dangerous men. During a police stakeout, officer Joe Joe Guthrie is shot and wounded while observing a drug deal. The suspects escape, taking Barnabas with them.

Miss Sadie announces a five-million-dollar gift to build a state-of-the-art nursing home, which Father Tim names Hope House. Feeling frail, she tells Father Tim her long-held secret, her father and Willard Porter accidentally started the fire that destroyed the original Lord's Chapel during an argument.

Olivia's health deteriorates rapidly. Hoppy, who has fallen in love with her, reveals he placed her on a national transplant list. When a donor heart with her rare blood type becomes available, she is flown by helicopter from Baxter Park to Boston for a successful transplant. Overwhelmed by stress, Father Tim neglects his diabetes management, which culminates in a hyperglycemic coma. Cynthia finds him unconscious. After a hospital stay, he learns he is now insulin-dependent. Bishop Cullen commands him to take a two-month sabbatical, and the congregation gives him their frequent flyer miles for a trip to Ireland.

Barnabas escapes his captors and finds his way to Homeless Hobbes, who returns him to a joyful Father Tim. The reward money is used to create an emergency fund for the poor called The Creek Bank. Cynthia asks Father Tim if he would be interested in going steady. Flustered, he tells her he cares for her but needs to think about it while he is away. Arrangements are made for Dooley to spend the summer at Meadowgate Farm and for an elderly Baptist preacher, Absalom Greer, to fill the pulpit. As he departs for Ireland, Father Tim feels a sense of release and the beginning of a new life.