Toni has an apparent breakthrough in therapy. When Dr. Miller asks with whom she would want to be stranded on a deserted island, she picks Joan and realizes from her explanation that it is because she loves her. She is excited to realize that she is capable of love. However, Todd is miffed when she explains this to him. He doesn't like the idea that she didn't know about love before, and sees her decision to choose Joan over him as another example of her tendency to not take his feelings into consideration. William tells Toni that she was wrong to talk about her session with Todd, and recommends that she do something to show how much she appreciates him. She plans to surprise him with a picnic lunch, but sees him dining with an attractive colleague and assumes they are having an affair. Although he insists that she is mistaken, Toni is worried, and the tension between them escalates. Maya completes her manuscript and asks Lynn to read it and give feedback. She asks her not to

Maya learns that the publisher wants to sanitize her book to make it more accessible to white readers. She convinces her editor to stand up for her vision and get the original version of the book released. She succeeds, and Maya receives $25,000. After William shows up at her house to confront her, Joan flees for New York with Toni. Toni sees Todd with his colleague, Natalie, and again assumes he is cheating on her. She makes a scene on the set as she begs him not to leave her. Joan is surprised to run into William, who has come to New York to give legal advice to Maya. Joan tries to tell William that she isn't interested in him romantically. He says that this is okay, and that things between them will soon return to normal. William runs into Monica, his evil, golddigging ex-girlfriend. Lynn visits her birth mother, Sandy, for information on her biological father. She learns that Sandy wanted to marry Lynn's father, but Sandy's parents paid the man to go away. They claim it