Clare gets back in town, and is met by the gang, who fill her in on what went down while she was on a trip with her father. Brandon is pissed that Susan's ex-boyfriend Jonathan keeps hanging around and things go badly enough that he punches the guy and almost calls it quits with her. Steve is on 'teen patrol' for his father, with his two obnoxious teen half-brothers around; they cause a lot of trouble, but Steve comes to feel some sympathy for them and only punishes them with some housework. Donna's pet bird interferes with both Steve and Clare's sex life and Valerie's New Year's plans. Valerie is annoyed that Kelly is blaming her for Colin's drug issues and shuts her up by handing over his drug stash and telling Kelly it's her problem to deal with now.

Kelly's downward spiral leads her into a drug-fueled binge of lavish spending with eager enabler Colin. Valerie tries to tell the group what's going on, but they can't believe Kelly would do that. Brandon and Susan are at odds when she wants to report on Joe's heart condition and he wants to protect Joe from the impact of the information. Clare gets a new car from her father, races Steve, they end up in a traffic school, after which they get recruited for a TV show about squabbling couples