A workaholic clothing designer refuses treatment after collapsing at the hospital; without official sanction, Nat sets up shop in the linen closet to sell imported goods.

Kayo faces a dilemma in obstetrics: whether to save the life of her patient or the patient's unborn child.

Cliff puts a patient's life at risk when, concentrating more on his social life than on work, he fails to prescribe an essential medication, and Kayo takes the blame.

A department-store explosion creates a major disaster as patients are rushed to Manhattan General during the midst of the Christmas season.

The ER is quarantined, which prevents Kayo from going to her sister's wedding, detains Doyle's accountant and jeopardizes a sick runaway.

Kayo fights to perform heart surgery on a patient (Miriam Colon) who's not insured. Her son challenges Dr Doyle to a fistfight after the physician insults the lady.

A rich suitor brings excitement into Kayo's social life; Margolist is upset when a psychiatrist shows special interest in his genes.

Kayo has difficulty dealing with the loss of her first patient on the operating table.

Dr. Wallach's pal undergoes a mild stroke on the tennis court but stubbornly maintains he's much too healthy to be confined in a hospital and misunderstandings abound with a Sri Lankan physician anxious to learn about American surgical procedures.

Nurse Rosa's friendship is tested when Kayo sides with a doctor who gives arrogant orders to the staff.

Dr. Kay O'Brien makes critical decisions on a pair of emergency patients: a young woman who refuses surgery due to her parent's religious beliefs; and a terminally ill photojournalist who wants to get the most out of his remaining days.

A Chinatown tradesman is critically wounded in a shoot-out and requires a kidney transplant, and his brain-dead attacker may be the only suitable donor. Meanwhile Dr. Kay O'Brien's parents breeze into town, adding to her already hectic schedule.

In the first episode, Dr. Kay O'Brien is scolded vehemently by a surly colleague Dr. Mark Doyle for making an improper judgement, wins unspoken approval from surgery chief Dr. Josef Wallach, befriends a sick orphan, and returns home to discover her boy friend has left her. (PK)