Hope and Michael Steadman are still adjusting to parenthood while struggling with money problems and best-friend crises. After some intercut scenes of a courtship, wedding and pregnancy, we see married couple Michael and Hope Steadman at breakfast with their 7-month-old daughter Janey and their dog Grendel. At work, Michael tells off an important client over the phone, to the dismay of his good friend and business partner Elliot Weston. Both men realize that their fledgling advertising agency could be in danger of folding. Hope goes to meet her old friend Ellyn at a restaurant, but the occasion is ruined when Janey won't stop crying. Michael comes home to find Gary, his old friend from college, there with Hope. Arriving on the scene next is Michael's cousin Melissa, who is distraught because of a philandering boyfriend. From the conversation, it's revealed that Gary and Melissa have had a past romantic relationship.

Hope's anxiety over her parents' impending visit taxes everyone's patience. Hope gets devastating news: Her parents are coming to visit in two days! The Steadmans hope Gary can fix their out-of-order bathroom in that time. Hope grows more and more frantic as the arrival approaches, and the news that Gary won't have the bathroom fixed only adds to her anxiety. Michael and Hope go to pick up Ruth and Ted Murdoch at the airport. On the way home, a palpable tension already is noticeable between Hope and her mother. Despite the parents' protests, Hope and Michael insist they take their master bedroom with its own bath. At night, Michael needs his razor but is afraid to enter in on Ruth and Ted. When they do let him in, Michael perhaps is thinking he's taking a look at Hope and himself thirty years down the line. Hope goes shopping with her mother and buys a dress she really doesn't like, but was afraid to disagree about with her mother.

Michael and Hope race to renovate their crumbling mansion for a huge housewarming party.

A night out with friends degenerates as Nancy and Elliot's marital woes become apparent.

Gary and Melissa rekindle their affair; Michael and Hope's first date in months is a disaster.

Hope and Michael plan a quiet Thanksgiving but learn friends are counting on being invited.

Before a deadline, Michael and Elliot wrestle with a creativity block; Ellyn develops a crush on an associate.

Sensing baby Janey's decreasing dependency on her, depressed Hope decides to go back to work.

Michael and Hope argue about whether their infant's first holiday should be Christmas or Hanukkah. A famous photographer shows interest in Melissa's work.

It's a Hitchcockian nightmare as Gary falls in love; as the romance progresses, he begins receiving a series of threats against his life.

Elliot and Nancy seek professional help for their troubled marriage; Michael finds it hard to keep it a secret.

Michael's jealousy is aroused when an important client make it clear he prefers Elliot. Meanwhile, Hope and Nancy try to come to terms with computers.

Elliot temporarily moves in with Michael and Hope after separating from Nancy.

Competing for the attention of the same man jeopardizes the new found friendship between Ellyn and Melissa.

Michael's hopes for a joyous reunion with his father are destroyed when he discovers the real reason for the visit.

A rocky relationship between Michael and his brother Brad is further strained when Michael learns the family business is almost bankrupt.

Nancy and Elliot's separation takes its toll on their son; Elliot prepares for a blind date with a chiropractor.

Melissa's burgeoning romance slows when she learns he doesn't want any more kids. Nancy has her first date since the separation.

Michael's old girlfriend from college pays a visit.

Gary evaluates the fate of his academic career as he undergoes tenure review at the college. Ellyn learns her building is going co-op, leaving her to decide whether to buy her apartment.

Ellyn and Woodman's weekend is ruined when they are forced to babysit Janey.