Alison returns from Hong Kong, but is unable to dissuade Billy from marrying Brooke. Jo is disturbed when Jess continues to push her to marry him.

Peter bails Michael out of jail. He explains that he only served a few days of jail time, and asks Michael to testify on his behalf before the medical board.

Jake suspects that Jess is responsible for his shooting, and is unmoved when Jess keeps Shooters open in his absence. Brooke replaces Alison's love note with a letter in which she states that long distance relationships cannot work.

Jake throws Jess out of his apartment, and assaults him after his brother taunts him about Jo. Jess hires a thug to stage a robbery at Shooters and shoot Jake. Brooke convinces her father, Hayley, to offer Alison a job in Hong Kong.

Amanda files a restraining order against Michael. Amanda and Brooke finally succeed in ousting Alison from D&D. Jake confronts Jo after Sydney tells him that she overheard a romantic encounter between Jess and Jo.

Kimberly works on her self-defense skills at a survival camp called No More Victims. While in a sweat lodge, she hallucinates about being taunted by Jo, Amanda, Jane and Sydney.

Michael is forced to call an ambulance for Kimberly when Sydney shows up at the beach house. Sydney swipes Kimberly's suicide note.

Kimberly comes home to discover that Amanda has been staying at her house. Amanda begins to recover from her illness, and asks Brooke to help her undermine Alison.

Alison replaces Amanda as D&D president. Alison has a liaison with Billy in her new office, but quickly rejects him. Brooke gets an internship at D&D.

Alison goes to the Century Awards headquarters to submit Amanda's entry. An employee named Brooke Armstrong convinces Alison to also enter her own campaign.

Michael and Amanda fly to New York to try to get her into an experimental treatment program. Kimberly sabotages their chances by phoning the doctor and telling him that Michael has a personal agenda.

Martin lets Sydney out of the pit and talks her into staying. Jane and Jake drive to Tucson to rescue Syd, but she refuses to leave with them. They return the following day, and Sydney is alarmed when Martin asks her to shoot her sister.

Amanda and Michael clash over the treatment of her cancer, but she eventually realizes she must turn to him for support. Amanda shares her condition with Billy, but asks him to keep it a secret.

Rikki commits acts of vandalism against Jo, Jane and Jake, who believe that Syd is responsible for the crimes. The isolated Sydney is forced to turn to Martin's cult for comfort.

Jake and Jo see the Carters arrive at the cabin with Emily and the baby. While Jake is calling the police, Jo disobeys his wishes and confronts the Carters.

Jo realizes that Austin's kidnapping was planned, and Kimberly admits that she told the Carters that the child was alive. Jo punches her.

Peter hires an efficiency expert named Caitlin Mills, who proves to be a headache for Amanda. Alison neglects Billy as her romance with Terry blossoms.

Amanda is forced to confront her Scrooge-like behavior when Bruce appears to her in a dream and leads her in a version of The Christmas Carol. 

Alison clashes with a man in her group meeting, NFL quarterback Terry Parsons. When Billy fails to show for a meeting featuring loved ones, Alison sneaks out to a bar and gets hammered.

Bruce learns that D&D has been purchased by a consortium of doctors. Peter fires Bruce and appoints Amanda president. Amanda gives Billy a promotion and orders him to fire Alison, who has begun to experience blackouts.

Alison is arrested for driving under the influence. She turns to Billy for comfort when Zack neglects her, but Billy reaffirms his relationship with Susan.

Zack encourages Alison to buy an expensive new car and skip work. Billy and Susan confront Alison during Thanksgiving dinner, but she reacts angrily and storms out.

The trial to determine custody of Jo's baby begins. The Carters' attorney raises many doubts about the character of Jo's friends and neighbors, but Jo shines on the stand.

Sydney plans to leave town to avoid her problems with Chris, but Jake convinces her to stay and give their relationship a chance. Alison claims to have accepted Billy's relationship with Susan, but begins hitting the bottle.

Jake provides Sydney with refuge after learning of the attack. Amanda reveals that Jane and Chris have gone to Las Vegas, and Sydney realizes that Chris is planning to make good on his promise to marry Jane.

Jake uses his reward money to purchase Shooters. When Jake drops off some papers at the design firm, Chris mistakes him for a deliveryman and makes a lewd comment about Sydney.

Jo and Amanda argue over who is to blame for Jake's departure. Jake meets his biological father, Vince Connors. After they resolve some of their differences, Vince convinces Jake to return to Melrose

Jake's friends (especially Jo and Amanda) are shocked to learn that the Pretty Lady has exploded. The Coast Guard finds Jake clinging for life to a buoy, and he returns to the building safely.

Sydney (claiming to be someone named Miranda) hangs around the beach house and attempts to seduce Michael. Michael regains his memory when he is nearly struck by a car in a restaurant parking lot, but doesn't

Chris warns that his company will have to cancel his deal with Jane's firm if Michael does not sign off on it. Sydney calls Matt from the mental hospital and pleads with him to investigate Kimberly.

Kimberly brings Michael home from the hospital. Sydney convinces Matt to visit her in prison, and tells him that Kimberly is setting her up. Sydney's father flies in from Chicago, but enrages his daughter by suggesting she seek a plea bargain.

Michael survives the hit-and-run, but suffers from amnesia. Jane is released when she offers evidence that incriminates Sydney. Kimberly promises to serve as Syd's alibi.