Steve attends the Olympics with Brandon, who spent most of the summer travelling alone. Their car breaks down in Hadley City, a small town in Texas. Steve decides to catch a bus to Houston and fly home to surprise Clare. He discovers that Clare has already left for San Antonio to surprise him. He flies back to San Antonio; thanks to a weather delay, they are able to find each other. Brandon meets a young black woman, who quits her job as assistant librarian after her boss hassles her for talking to him. Brandon's friendship with Mariah riles many of the townspeople; they have confrontations with two redneck mechanics, and her ex-boyfriend and a cohort. Mariah decides to move to New York and write a book about angels. She thanks Brandon for encouraging her to change her life. David constantly criticizes Donna as they try to complete a video shoot with a temperamental singer. Their boss is fired, and David panics at the prospect of losing his contract. Donna ends the partnership after le

Mariah, who has gotten her book published, comes to town to give a lecture at the university's new age festival. She develops an instant connection with Kelly, prompting Tracy to bristle. Tracy criticizes Mariah's theories in a news segment, leading to an argument with Brandon. Tracy refuses to attend a harp concert with Brandon. He sits with Kelly, and they share a kiss afterwards. Clare ruins her computer (and loses a term paper) by knocking coffee onto the hard drive while talking on the phone with Steve. She blames Steve, who shuns her after helping her retrieve the file. Clare sends flowers to Steve during the concert and apologizes. Although Rob receives rave reviews for his performance, the press trashes his movie. He is hurt to learn that it won't receive a nationwide release, and decides to quit acting and move back to Indiana.

Music: ""Dan