Marie gets fed up with Frank after 40 years of marriage and moves in with Ray and Debra. Ray and Robert enjoy being mothered by Marie, and Debra spends quality time with Frank. Frank discovers salsa.

Irate neighbors are seriously up in arms over Ray's noisy dad and meddling mom so they demand a powwow at Ray's house, where his parents stumble upon the raucous caucus.

A popular radio psychologist comes to the house to interview Debra for a book on the American family. But the doctor finds that the rest of the eccentric Barones are more captivating, leaving "normal" Debra feeling left out because she's not "quirky or funny or interesting."

At the urging of his parents and Debra, Raymond reluctantly takes Robert for a night out, on the anniversary of his brother's divorce. The brothers begin a newfound bonding experience until Robert wants to get in touch with Ray's feelings.

Ray makes a startling discovery when he takes Debra to his 20th high school reunion. It turns out that Debra's "one of them" – the cool people who hated him and used to throw him into the girls' bathroom! Depressed about being unmasked as a "nerd," Ray tries to deal with their mixed marriage.

Raymond decides to spend a shift accompanying his brother Robert, a policeman. Initially, spending a shift in the back of Robert's patrol car bores Raymond and he wonders why he even bothered putting on the bullet-proof vest. But his boredom quickly turns to terror during a chance visit to Nemo's restaurant that puts them in the middle of the hold-up. When Robert saves the day by throwing a hot pizza in the burglar's face, Raymond sees for the very first time how courageous his brother really is.

As the entire family prepares for "Honest Frank's Yard of Bargains," Ray is surprised to see Debra unloading their cribs and baby clothing for the sale and even more surprised to hear that she just assumed they were finished having children. As usual, their private business becomes a family matter, and Marie reminds Debra that, "You want to plant your seedlings before...winter comes and everything freezes over." Eventually, their disagreement leads to a sentimental journey down the lane of messy memories past. While collecting the kids' baby clothes and old furniture for a garage sale at his parents' house, Ray gets to thinking about having another child, but that's not something Debra has given much thought to.

Robert’s entire demeanor changes when he starts clubbing with his patrol partner, Judy, and her friends. When he starts using expressions such as “This is so whack” and “I’m down with it” and showing up in mustard-colored suits, Ray and the rest of the family find it hard to believe the extent to which Robert will go to fit in with his new friends.

When Ally's teacher, Miss Purcell, overhears Ray commenting about the kids' excessive workload, she invites Raymond to address the curriculum review board and gives him a mountain of material for review and evaluation. But when Raymond still hasn't touched the material the night before the review, and Debra refuses to bail him out, he goes to the one person he knows will help him with his homework... Marie.

Frank and Marie return from a trip down to a retirement home in New Jersey when they tell the family that they plan on moving there. Everyone, besides Frank and Marie, is overjoyed fro hearing the news. Marie and Frank sell their own house to Robert and Amy for $26,000. On they day of their moving, however, Debra reveals some mixed feelings about their moving and doesn't feel right about it.