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...

Meet Martin Ellingham, an eminent physician with a nasty disposition. Forced to give up his career as a London surgeon after developing a fear of blood, he takes a job as GP in a sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn. His irascible manner and permanent scowl soon have the town in an uproar; he insults each patient he sees and offends nearly everyone else. The only person who is glad to see him is his Aunt Joan.

"Iris Carr is travelling across Europe by train when she unwittingly becomes embroiled in a sinister Balkan plot. Feeling disoriented after a fall, Iris is befriended by Miss Froy, an elderly English woman sharing her carriage. But when she wakes up from a few hours' sleep, Miss Froy has vanished without a trace. As fellow passengers claim the lady never existed, Iris faces danger and intrigue as she fights to discover the fate of Miss Froy-- and...