After Rose witnesses the members of her cadet troop talking about nuclear war, she writes letters to President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev urging them to disarm their weapons, and Gorbachev is so touched by Rose's letter he wants to meet her in person. Meanwhile, Sophia plans an act for a talent show.

Stan's brother Ted is in town, and Blanche latches herself onto him. After their date, however, he is scared off by Blanche's aggressively sexual nature, and finds solace instead in Dorothy, causing a rift between the two of them. Meanwhile, Rose deals with a severe case of insomnia.