Michael convinces Kimberly to have dinner with him. When she rejects his marriage proposal, he becomes very drunk. Kimberly changes her mind during the drive home, but Michael loses control of the car during their celebratory kiss. The car flips off an embankment, leaving Michael paralyzed and Kimberly in a coma. Michael blames Syd for the accident. The police suspect that Michael was driving under the influence. He pleads with Matt to change the results of his blood alcohol test. One of Sydney's co-workers takes her to a party. She makes a date with a director, unaware that he is under the impression that she is a hooker. Jo gives Alison the cold shoulder, and warns her that she is on the verge of destroying her relationship with Billy.

Alison has to miss Thanksgiving dinner when Amanda sends her to San Francisco to check on the details for a presentation on Steve's account. Billy, aware that Steve will try to romance her, threatens to break up with Alison if she makes the trip. She ignores his ultimatum. A suddenly sympathetic Amanda urges Billy not to give up on Alison. He calls her room, but hangs up when Steve answers the phone. The FBI orders Jake to assist them with a sting on Palmer. Jake skips Thanksgiving dinner (or in Jo's words, ""Amanda's Thanksgiving tribute to the men in her life"") to hang out on the stairs and talk with Jo. Lauren apologizes to Sydney for misinterpreting her interest in her ""business."" She assures her that she and her girls can be her new family. Syd offers to cook Thanksgiving dinner for Jane, but gets rejected. Jane later offers Sydney a holiday truce, but Syd decides to dine with the girls. Kimberly's mother has her daughter shipped home to Cleveland.

Michael learns that Kimberly has died. He is transferred to a rehab hospital, but manages to convince Jane to take him in. Robert is enraged by this development. Billy breaks up with Alison and moves in with Jake. Sydney becomes a prostitute in an attempt to pay her bills. Jo doesn't believe Syd's story about becoming a highly paid model, but Syd refuses to open up to her. Lauren threatens Sydney after Syd storms out on a client with an affinity for ""toys."" Katya leaves Nikki with Matt as she returns to Russia to care for her ailing mother.

Billy manages to sneak out of Amanda's apartment without detection. Alison asks him for a reconciliation, but he turns her down. Matt promises Nikki a Christmas party. Billy and Jake look for a tree for the courtyard, and end up running into Jo and Alison. Billy tries to fly home for Christmas, but can't get a flight. He plays Santa at Nikki's party. Alison finds him sneaking a present into her stocking during the night. They apologize and renew their relationship. A temporary nurse prompts Michael to reflect on his behavior. He apologizes to Jane and Robert. Sydney goes to confession and gives up hooking. Nikki returns to Russia.

Alison turns to a psychiatrist for help coping with her nightmares, but Jo warns that she seems to be developing romantic feelings for the man. Amanda resolves Jane's financial dilemma by making Michael her business partner. Jane asks her accountant to falsify the design firm's financial records to keep Michael and Syd from cutting into her profits. Sydney takes over Lauren's operation after the madam is arrested. Amanda hires a young man named Ted Ryan as building manager. She fires him when he continually exhibits strange behavior, but he lurks around the building and watches Amanda in the shower.

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

Amanda is furious when Jake skips work to hold a bedside vigil for Jo. Jo is not seriously injured, and learns that her baby was unharmed. Billy warns Alison to keep quiet about Amanda's rendezvous with Chas. Jake tracks down Hank at a pool hall and beats him up. He shows up late for dinner with Amanda, sporting a black eye, and storms out when she lambastes him for defending Jo. Michael throws Billy a bachelor party at a strip club, unaware that Sydney is the entertainment. When she sees Michael, she runs out of the club and is fired. A drunken Billy accidentally tells Jake about Amanda and Chas. Jake breaks up with Amanda, who fires Chas and vows to destroy Alison. Jake admits his feelings for Jo, and she agrees to take him back. Kimberly alters the chart of one of Michael's patients, prompting him to unwittingly commit an error that nearly kills the man. He is stripped of the chief resident position. Kimberly bullies Jane into turning over the $5000 in profits she had kept from Mich