Amy must decide if a little girl in the middle of a bitter custody dispute is being molested by her father; doing research for a paper, Donna shadows Maxine during a day in which she deals with the neglected children of a severely depressed mother who refuses treatment; Kyle receives an unwelcome visit from his mother and sister; after employing a private investigator to follow Amy for over a year, Michael sues for full custody of Lauren; the decorator that Amy hires to redo the kitchen disparages Maxine's taste.

Amy is dismayed when the courthouse cleaning lady tries to fix her up with her son amid gossip about David's departure; Lauren pesters Amy to send her to rock star camp; political posturing makes life at D.C.F. more miserable than usual until Maxine comes up with an inspired solution to the problem and is able to reunite a mother with her sons; when Amy presides over a shoplifting case, she discovers that the case is rooted in the neglect of two children -- the plaintiff and the daughter of the plaintiff's famous defense attorney; David sends Amy a postcard from Houston; Kyle quits his job to reassess his future after he discovers that his father died never having pursued his true passion in life; Maxine has a little tiff with Ignacio over his qualms about Courtney's dating Sean because of their cultural differences, and Amy is surprised when Bruce agrees with Ignacio; Maxine grieves the loss of her brother, and is especially saddened when her sister-in-law asks that she not attend th