Widower Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) divides his time between raising his young son, Opie (Ron Howard), and his job as Sheriff/Justice of the Peace of sleepy Mayberry, North Carolina. Andy and Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), who serves as a surrogate mother to both father and son. Andy's nervous cousin, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), is his deputy sheriff whose utter incompetence is tolerated because Mayberry is virtually crime-free.