AustLit

During World War II, an American Marine, Rebel, is recuperating in Australia from wounds suffered in battle. He is weary of war and intent on going absent without leave. After meeting local singer Kathy, he becomes infatuated and pursues her. But Kathy is married and initially uninterested in Rebel. This begins to changes, however, when he hides out at her place, and intensifies when she receives a letter advising her that her husband has been killed in battle. Meanwhile, the local police and the U.S. military are searching for Rebel. He arranges to escape Australia by cargo ship, but eventually allows himself to be arrested in order to save Kathy from being arrested for harbouring him.

Set in a small, fictional, New South Wales country town called Wandin Valley, A Country Practice focused on the staffs of the town's medical practice and local hospital and on the families of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Many of the episodes also featured guest characters (frequently patients served by the practice) through whom various social and medical problems were explored. Although often considered a soap opera, the series was not built around an open-ended narrative; instead, the two one-hour episodes screened per week formed a self-contained narrative block, though many of the storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's storyline. While the focus was on topical issues such as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness, the program did sometimes explore culturally sensitive issues, including, for example, the Aboriginal community and their place in modern Australian society.

Among the show's principal characters were Dr Terence Elliott, local policeman Sergeant Frank Gilroy, Esme Watson, Shirley Dean Gilroy, Bob Hatfield, Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, and Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan. In addition to its regularly rotating cast of characters, A Country Practice also had a cast of semi-regulars who would make appearances as the storylines permitted. Interestingly, while the series initially targeted the adult and older youth demographic, it became increasingly popular with children over the years.