Life is a challenge for any priest in a small mountain town, and Father Peter Clifford has just arrived from London with high expectations and not even a drivers license to help him navigate the rocky road to salvation in Ballykissangel. His arrival is as much of a shock to Peter as it is to the local residents who are forced to come to terms with his youthful energy and down-to-earth style. Beautiful barkeep Assumpta Fitzgerald owns a car, but loathes organized religion, and she lets him know it as they drive up the mountain to give the last rites to a dying parishioner. And he clashes repeatedly with powerful landowner Brian Quigly, one of the church's biggest donors. There are prejudices to overcome and questions to be answered. Like why exactly did Peter leave London in the first place?