Lynn meets her biological mother, Sandy, who suddenly appears at Joan's house. Although the two initially become friends, Lynn soon becomes embarrassed by some of Sandy's behavior. However, Lynn becomes intrigued by a documentary project about sexuality, and quits her job to help her work on it. Meanwhile, Joan and Maya drive each other crazy as Maya and Jabari stay with Joan while Maya looks for an affordable apartment.

Lynn persuades Toni to accompany her to Virginia, where she seeks Sandy's help before a presentation aimed at receiving a grant for her AIDS documentary. During the visit, Lynn meets her grandmother and learns a shocking secret about Sandy's health. After discovering how much money William is now earning, Maya tries to become his assistant in the hopes of improving her salary and returning to school. However, William will only sign off on the arrangement if Joan gives her approval.

Maya self-publishes her book, Oh, Hell Yes, and sells it on the streets, where it is a tremendous success. Ronnie tells her that a major publisher wants to offer her a five-figure deal to release the book. Toni repeatedly tries to call Todd in New York, but he refuses to return her messages. She continues to act as though nothing is wrong in front of her friends, even when they express concern about her well-being. Lynn gets a new boyfriend, Lenny. Her friends note their physical resemblance and all the things they have in common (including allergies) and offer the opinion that they might be brother and sister. Lynn talks with Lenny's parents, who assure her that this is not the case. She breaks up with him because she is still freaked out at the idea that he could have been her brother, and decides to search for her birth father. William decides not to confess his feelings for Joan, and pursues an attractive woman he meets at the bar. However, he runs into Joan when she stops

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