
Andy Taylor is the widower sheriff of the small, sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry. Andy and son Opie live with Aunt Bee, who takes care of the family. Andy's deputy is his bumbling but neurotically hilarious cousin, Barney Fife. Among Andy's Mayberry friends is the town's resident barber, Floyd.

A misunderstanding leads Andy and Aunt Bee to believe that they are both anxious to get married.

Barney interferes with Andy's attempts to romance Mayberry's County Nurse, Mary Simpson; when Andy suggests to Barney that he and Mary need some alone time, Barney immediately thinks that they are getting married.

Floyd hires a second barber, Medwin, when his barbershop gets too hectic. The shop flourishes, but Andy becomes suspicious when he sees the same men going into the shop every day.

J. Howard Jackson, a big-shot newspaper publisher, accuses Andy of misconduct in office after Andy fines him for a traffic violation.