Bill decides to send Cissy to a private girls' school in Connecticut, and even though she would prefer to attend high school locally, she reluctantly agrees to go, thinking Bill wants to get her out of the way.

Buffy doesn't like the new changes in her and Cissy's bedroom and refuses to ever step foot in it.

Mr. French gets Lebanese cooking lessons from a Middle Eastern restaurant owner named Nural Shpeni, and her family forces Mr. French to marry her, whether he wants to or not.

When an old flame steps back into Bill's life, the children think that he will get married and send them back to Indiana.

Cissy learns a lesson in snooping when she is to do a paper on Mr. French and finds a shocking secret about him.

Cissy worships a teacher named Julian Hill and spouts his theories all through the household. Bill invites the teacher to dinner and Cissy sees that he is not the man that she worships so dearly when he goes off on Buffy and Jody for an innocent spill.

Cissy is disheartened because she will be left out of a mother-daughter event at school, and she doesn't tell Bill what is wrong with her.

Bill plans to do some serious bonding with Jody by taking him on a business trip, but Murphy's Law plagues the trip. But Jody states that just being with Bill is exciting enough.

Buffy and Jody are placed in a fast-learning portion of their grade, but Bill is spending his time with a woman who is quite uncertain about what she wants. The twins get a friendly window-washer to help them with their work, but a call from the school to Bill makes him see that the children are more important than a hot date.

A lesson to be learned in this episode: Helping people is good, but it only goes but so far. The family learns this the hard way. Mr. French helps out a maid who is very bad with housekeeping by covering up her mistakes, and this charade goes on until she is hired by a guest who is throwing a party. Eventually, she gets fired and she gets on Mr. French. Bill does the same thing when he takes over the twins' school project, and he gets credit. Cissy tells them all about how important it is to get involved in the family because they had none when they were in Terre Haute.

Buffy gets chosen for a lead in a ballet, which is totally annoying for a mother whose little girl, Melissa, was passed over for a complete stranger. She has reason to suspect foul play when the casting director is Bill's old girlfriend Margo, but she knew nothing about Bill's children until after she had cast the roles. Then Margo tells Buffy that she will be a big success and travel all over the world. Buffy gets the idea that it means right away, so she botches up her role in the production so that she will not be separated from her new family.

Bill sends the kids away for a week-long trip at camp because they are driving him up the wall. He then starts to miss them when he goes back to his bachelor life.

Mr. French gets a visit from his nephew David. French is shocked when David announces that he wants to become a dentist, but the final straw comes when he goes out with Cissy.

Bill takes the twins to the rodeo where he meets his old friend Gabe, whom he invites to stay with them. The twins are mesmerized at the thought of meeting a real live cowboy, and Gabe takes them under his wing. Of course, Bill thinks that they like Gabe more than they like him. But the twins tell him that Bill will always come first in their lives.

Cissy has trouble finding a date for the Sadie Hawkins dance, and asks a boy who throws her a curve because of a broken leg. Thinking that he is lying, she feels miserable. Bill suggests that an actor friend of his who is visiting escort her to the dance, but Cissy turns him down. Then, Cissy sees that Virgil really does has a broken leg, and she is happy that he didn't lie to her.

Cissy's independence is put to the test when she decides to stay in her own apartment with a friend. Her family wil not leave her alone, but when they stop coming, she feels lonesome for them.

While Jody is playing with his friends at school, a window gets broken and Jody is blamed for it. When Jody is suspended, Bill considers taking him to a private school. He reconsiders when one of Jody's friends confesses to breaking the window.

Cissy and Gregg decide to get engaged.

The twins plan a surprise birthday party for Mr. French.

Cissy stays with a friend while the rest of the family goes to Boston. Subsequently, no one has a good time.

Graduate Cissy plans to stay out all night.

The siblings' long-absent grandfather pays a visit.

The twins get a small inheritance.

Jody meets his favorite movie western hero, Chaps Callahan, and makes friends with him. Jody decides to introduce Chap to his friends, and finds out that he is not the same as he was in his movies. Jody is disheartened because Chap is not who he used to be, and Chap reassures him that he is the same person, just older.

Bill takes the family and Mr French to Tahiti for a vacation. Everyone enjoys the place.