As Lily awaits the consequences of her decision, William van der Woodsen, CeCe and Lily's sister, Carol, come into town to support her and be part of a Taschen photo shoot on "modern royalty" in which the Rhodes family is participating. Unbeknownst to Carol, who has always chosen to keep her daughter Charlie far away from the Upper East Side, Charlie has followed her to New York to meet Serena and the rest of the family. Blair has an epiphany about her future, and grapples with the knowledge of whom she's destined to be with.

Blair's dreams appear to be coming true, but Serena threatens to jeopardize it all by dredging up Blair's past. Charlie befriends Vanessa, who may or may not have a hidden agenda. Nate is torn between his relationship with Raina and a truth he must keep hidden out of loyalty to Chuck.