The Thorsons get custody of an amiable, talkative young man wanted on a minor offense, but he soon involves them in more complicated and dangerous matters. Also, Dottie and Brandi try filming a television commercial.

CAPSULE: Dottie sponsors a parolee, Max Quinlan, who is an old prison friend of Tiny's. But some men on the outside have unfinished business to conclude with the former armored car robber.

SPOILER ALERT! Key plot details revealed!

Tiny accompanies Dottie back to prison to see Max Quinlin, who has requested a meeting. His lawyer tells them that Max, who's been in serving a long sentence for armored car robberies, has a chance to be paroled if he can be released to a responsible community member like Dottie. Although he was Tiny's good friend in prison, Tiny is now leery of Dottie taking such responsibility. But Max makes a good impression on the big-hearted Dottie and she agrees to do it. The more cynical Brandi is not thrilled with the prospect, however. A prisoner is seen calling up an unknown party with the news: Max is getting out.

Mark Farrell shows up to meet Brandi. He's left his new position in Virginia after six weeks and as he tries to explain things to Brandi he tells her he

CAPSULE: While searching alone and undercover for a drug dealer, Brandi is charged with the same crime herself. She skips bail, forcing Dottie to track her down before the police find her.

SPOILER ALERT! Key plot details revealed!

Brandi comes home after spending the night out at a rave, but Dottie thinks she's spent the night studying. Suddenly DEA agents burst into the house and arrest Brandi at gunpoint on the charge of drug-dealing. Downtown, Agent Forrest confronts Brandi and her attorney with 20 hits of ecstasy she had in her possession plus photos of her making the buy. Brandi tells the agent she was working on trying to find a skip. Forrest tells her that a girl named Georgia OD'ed at the rave and that Brandi could possibly be looking at murder charges.

Ricky puts up the bail for Brandi. Dottie is upset with her daughter for not telling her about this case, but Brandi counters that the nature of her undercover work made it necessary to work alone. She bought the ecstasy from a

CAPSULE: Brandi is forced to shoot a skip who she believes is going for a gun. But later the gun can't be located, and Dottie's and Brandi's bounty hunting licenses are suspended. Tiny pushes himself further away from Dottie.

SPOILER ALERT! Key plot details revealed!

Brandi and Dottie are in foot pursuit of con artist Edmund Riley on the Santa Monica Pier. He's cornered against the railing overlooking the ocean. He pulls out what looks like a gun and Brandi quickly responds by shooting him. He falls over into the ocean. When the police arrive, one of them is Jack Forbes, a detective from Las Vegas who pursued Dottie earlier in the ""two Mrs. Thorsons"" mystery. They're in no trouble, but Forbes notes that no one else saw a gun but Brandi. Dottie was distracted and didn't see it either, but believes her daughter. So far there is no body recovered or gun, either.

Dottie goes to see Tiny in jail with the idea of delving into the background of the young man he's accused of murdering in order