Alison complains to the brass about Amanda's mistreatment of her. After the FBI shows up with questions about her father's disappearance, Amanda is ordered to take a vacation. She heads to Hawaii with Jake, but returns because she fears that Alison is after her job. She goes to Billy and threatens to expose their one-night stand unless he gets Alison to back off. He refuses to cave in, although Alison ends up apologizing to Amanda anyway. Sydney sets up a hooker with an unknowing Robert during a business trip. Jane receives a videotape of the two together and breaks up with Robert. Reed and Jo sleep together. He later decides to start a charter boat service.

Sydney and Jane get into a catfight in the pool after Syd tries to take Jane's wedding dress (a family heirloom). Their mother comes to town, but cannot talk Syd out of the marriage. Michael and Sydney are married at the beach house, with only Matt in attendance. Inspired by a dream, Michael decides to take Syd on a honeymoon and murder her. Jo learns that she is pregnant with Reed's child, and plans to have an abortion. Jake takes her to dinner instead of dining with Amanda and her boss. Amanda is jealous of the amount of time Jake is spending with Jo, until she learns about the pregnancy. Jo decides to have the baby. Billy's co-worker Celia and Alison (inspired by a comment from Amanda) lay a guilt trip on him until he buys Alison a more expensive engagement ring.

Michael is astonished when Kimberly pays him a late-night visit. She reveals that she was in a coma for months, and that her mother claimed that she had died to keep Michael away from her. Michael dumps Sydney without explanation. When she brings a police officer to the hospital to have Michael arrested for manslaughter, Kimberly enters the room, prompting Syd to faint. Kimberly is plagued by headaches, and removes a wig in the bathroom to reveal a nasty scar on the side of her head. Amanda fires a model after learning that she is from the agency Models Inc., and is reprimanded by her boss. She reveals that her estranged mother, Hillary Michaels, is the head of the agency. Amanda rejects Hillary's overtures, but Jake later convinces her to give her mother a chance. Alison takes back her decree about not sleeping with Billy until their wedding night. Alison's parents hire an obnoxious wedding planner, but Billy and Alison fire her and decide to marry in the courtyard of the apartment bu

Kimberly threatens Sydney when she tries to stake her claim on Michael. Syd's business party is crashed by a newly freed Lauren, who breaks their earlier agreement and demands $15,000 by the end of the week. When Jane refuses to help her, Sydney takes a job as a stripper. Kimberly is still disturbed by Michael's marriage to Sydney, and makes plans for revenge. Alison is annoyed when Amanda hires her mother's fiancé, Chas. He refuses to take his share of the work, and ingratiates himself with Amanda by helping her smooth things over with Hillary. Alison later catches Amanda and Chas kissing in a conference room. Jo conducts a photo shoot with her model friend, Sarah, aboard the Pretty Lady. They are forced to stay for a few hours when the boat experiences engine trouble, and Jake and Jo nearly rekindle their romance. Sarah seeks refuge at Jo's apartment after her visiting boyfriend Hank attacks her. Hank shows up at Jo's doorstep and tries to come after Sarah. When Jo steps between them

Jo is certain that Amanda will not gracefully bow out of her relationship with Jake. Hillary refuses to believe that Chas tried to seduce Amanda. Chas files a $10 million sexual harassment suit against Amanda, and the agency does not support her. She turns to Jake for consolation. Sydney is assaulted by three hookers when she invades their turf. Kimberly comforts her and pays her rent. She convinces Syd to participate in her plot to kill Michael, and they plan the crime over ice cream. Michael stands in the way of Jane's plans to expand her business. Billy's college friend Rob comes to town to serve as his best man, and gets along well with Matt. Billy is stunned to see them kissing in the courtyard.

Jake sleeps with Amanda. Jo catches him coming out of her apartment half-dressed. Jake insists that he doesn't want to reunite with Amanda, but Jo breaks up with him. Amanda tries to make nice with Alison in the hopes of convincing her to not to testify on Chas's behalf. Kimberly drugs Michael, and she and Syd leave him in his car with the engine running. However, Jane revives him when she and client Chris Marchette come over to discuss a business deal. Before the wedding, Michael refuses to sign off on Jane's business proposal, so she threatens to kill him. Kimberly steals Jane's car keys. As Alison is about to walk down the aisle, her father's words of reassurance trigger a repressed memory. She realizes that her father molested her during her childhood. He threatens to kill her if she tells anyone. Alison fails to emerge for the ceremony, and Jane and Billy discover that she has fled through the window. She seeks refuge at her sister Meredith's San Francisco home, unaware that her f

Kimberly brings Michael home from the hospital. Sydney convinces Matt to visit her in prison, and tells him that Kimberly is setting her up. Sydney's father flies in from Chicago, but enrages his daughter by suggesting she seek a plea bargain. Matt becomes suspicious of Kimberly when he realizes that she is shielding Michael from the truth about their history. Sydney's outburst convinces Mr. Andrews that she is crazy, and he and Jane have her committed to a mental hospital. Alison and Meredith fly to Wisconsin and attempt to file charges against their father, but Meredith bails out when she realizes that the town respects Mr. Parker too much to give their story credence. Alison confronts her father in front of all the prominent townspeople at a barbecue, and pushes him into admitting his guilt. Billy is fired when Nancy learns that he helped D&D get the inside track on the Escapade account, but lands a job writing ad copy for D&D. Jake sleeps with Brittany, unaware that Palmer Woodward

Jake uses his reward money to purchase Shooters. When Jake drops off some papers at the design firm, Chris mistakes him for a deliveryman and makes a lewd comment about Sydney. Chris denies the allegations. Jane lashes out at Jake, and fires and evicts Sydney. Jake gives Syd a job at Shooters so that she won't have to return to the mental hospital. Chris tries to attack Sydney. Michael and Kimberly are asked to appear in a coffee ad. Peter agrees to allow this in order to impress Amanda. She goes out to dinner with him. Billy takes a liking to Alison's college roommate, Susan. Susan moves in with Alison when a chef job in Santa Barbara falls through.

Sydney plans to leave town to avoid her problems with Chris, but Jake convinces her to stay and give their relationship a chance. Alison claims to have accepted Billy's relationship with Susan, but begins hitting the bottle. She gets into a catfight with Susan at a client party, prompting Susan to move in with Billy. Michael asks Amanda to manipulate Peter into rehiring him. Amanda agrees, provided that Michael surrender his share in the design firm. Jane promises to give Amanda 25 percent of the business if she can arrange this. Once Michael has returned to work, he backs out of the deal and tries to blackmail Amanda. Peter encourages Amanda to seek control of D&D. Matt learns that Jeffrey, an ex-lover, is back in town. He is stunned when Jeffrey reveals that he has left the Navy and is HIV positive. Jo prepares for the custody trial.

The trial to determine custody of Jo's baby begins. The Carters' attorney raises many doubts about the character of Jo's friends and neighbors, but Jo shines on the stand. Kimberly learns that she cannot have children because of injuries suffered in the car accident. Alison gets drunk at a client party and leaves with a hard-living music business scout named Zack Phillips. Bruce suffers a heart attack while dancing at the event, and Peter suggests that Amanda use the opportunity to seize control of the agency. Alison is unable to testify on Jo's behalf because she is stoned following a night of partying with Zack. The judge awards custody of the baby to the Carters. Matt questions his relationship with Jeffrey due to the illness, but the two decide to commit to each other.

Zack encourages Alison to buy an expensive new car and skip work. Billy and Susan confront Alison during Thanksgiving dinner, but she reacts angrily and storms out. A drunken Alison tries to drive to Zack's house, but he is having a party with his friends. While distracted by her phone, she crashes into a boy on a bicycle. Kimberly explores several motherhood options, some of them illegal. She invites Jo over for Thanksgiving and convinces her to fake a miscarriage and hide her baby from the Carters. A mobster's associates begin harassing Jake. Sydney is told that Jake will suffer a serious accident unless she sleeps with the mobster's friend--Chris. Amanda leaks information about Bruce's health, while Peter prepares a takeover attempt. Matt and Jeffrey refuse to come to Thanksgiving dinner after Matt's parents ask them to hide the true nature of their relationship.

Alison is arrested for driving under the influence. She turns to Billy for comfort when Zack neglects her, but Billy reaffirms his relationship with Susan. Alison is cleared of all charges because witnesses felt that the bicyclist had been at fault. Bruce fires Amanda when he realizes that she leaked information and scuttled a possible merger. Kimberly takes Jo to the beach house and induces labor. She checks Jo into the hospital, claiming that she delivered a stillborn child. When Jo shows up at the beach house to take the baby, Kimberly insists that the boy is her child. After Jane allows Chris to deposit a $500,000 check, Chris clears out Jane's account and kidnaps Sydney.

Bruce learns that D&D has been purchased by a consortium of doctors. Peter fires Bruce and appoints Amanda president. Amanda gives Billy a promotion and orders him to fire Alison, who has begun to experience blackouts. Bruce hangs himself in Amanda's office. Matt tells Billy that he can save Alison's job by checking her into rehab. They conduct an intervention, and Alison agrees to seek treatment. She escapes when the trio stops for gas, but later checks herself into the clinic. Sydney decides that she doesn't mind being a hostage when Chris buys her expensive gifts and gives her unlimited use of his credit cards. She finally calls Jake and asks for help after Chris loses all of Jane's money and becomes abusive. Michael, Jane and Jake fly to Las Vegas, where Jake expresses his doubts about Sydney's behavior. Jane and Michael learn that all the money is gone, and sleep together. Michael demands to know why Kimberly suddenly has a child. Jo struggles to prove that her son is alive.

Amanda is forced to confront her Scrooge-like behavior when Bruce appears to her in a dream and leads her in a version of The Christmas Carol. He encourages her to break free of the hold that Peter has over her. She visits Alison at the rehab center to apologize, and ensures that Bruce's children are financially secure. Terry becomes jealous after seeing Billy and Alison together, and admits his own feelings for her. Matt and Jo tell Peter that Kimberly has stolen her baby. Peter orders Michael to return the child to Jo. Kimberly goes ballistic and tries to throw herself in the ocean. After Michael saves her, she calls Mrs. Carter to tell her that her grandson is alive. Jeffrey breaks up with Matt because he needs time alone to cope with his illness. Jane convinces Syd to come home for the holidays.