Toni suffers a breakdown after Greg cheats on her, then reveals that he only took her back so that he could get revenge against her. Lynn and Maya try to help her pick up the pieces, but Joan is less than sympathetic. Without Toni to round up male guests, William finds himself as the only man at Joan's Halloween party, and becomes overwhelmed by all of the female attention.

When Maya moves into her new place, Joan ditches the housewarming for an A-list party. Toni and Todd try to come to a settlement.

A series of unfortunate events prevents Joan from being there for Toni (again) as the custody hearing takes a surprising turn.

Maya befriends a fellow single mother, a janitor at the law firm's building. They quickly make a connection, but Joan finds the woman's attitude irritating; and fears that her example could negatively impact Maya's relationship with Darnell. Meanwhile, William pretends to work at Lynn's office because he misses the camaraderie of a workplace; and Lynn tries to scam her co-workers out of money by pretending it's her birthday.

Toni and Todd's relationship is thrown into flux after she inadvertently mentions marriage. When Toni goes into hiding, Todd seeks the assistance of her friends, who convince him that Toni loves him and help him confront his own feelings for her. Meanwhile, William finds himself extremely attracted to Sharon, leading to an odd face-off with Monica.

Maya learns that the publisher wants to sanitize her book to make it more accessible to white readers. She convinces her editor to stand up for her vision and get the original version of the book released. She succeeds, and Maya receives $25,000. After William shows up at her house to confront her, Joan flees for New York with Toni. Toni sees Todd with his colleague, Natalie, and again assumes he is cheating on her. She makes a scene on the set as she begs him not to leave her. Joan is surprised to run into William, who has come to New York to give legal advice to Maya. Joan tries to tell William that she isn't interested in him romantically. He says that this is okay, and that things between them will soon return to normal. William runs into Monica, his evil, golddigging ex-girlfriend. Lynn visits her birth mother, Sandy, for information on her biological father. She learns that Sandy wanted to marry Lynn's father, but Sandy's parents paid the man to go away. They claim it

Following Darnell's drunken love declaration, Maya enlists the help of Joan and William as she plans to break up his wedding. However, she soon has second thoughts. Joan tries to talk some sense into Darnell in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Toni gives birth to a baby girl before she is able to get in touch with Todd or the girls. Following the surprisingly easy delivery, Toni begins to wonder whether she really needs Todd in her life. Unable to hold back her feelings any longer, Lynn lashes out at Finn and quits the band.

William and Monica's wedding bliss comes to a screeching halt when, while drunk, he expresses doubts about marrying her.

Joan becomes fed up with the ""boys' club"" mentality at work, as her opinions are ignored and she is passed over for important cases. When she believes that William has deliberately stolen her idea, she blows up at him in front of everyone, leading to a rift between them. Meanwhile, Maya discovers that Toni and Lynn's yoga instructor is a little too ""hands-on"" in his approach toward his students.

Toni remains in a state of despair over her split with Greg, while a guilt-ridden Joan continues to keep her involvement in the break-up a secret. She confesses to Greg, who still wants nothing to do with Toni. William worries when Yvonne heads off to Jamaica to attend Sinbad's music festival. The girls decide to go to Jamaica as well, as Joan hopes that Toni will meet someone and get out of her funk. Sean and Joan argue, as he feels she should either confess the truth or mind her own business. Maya gets her groove back after a bikini wax, and Lynn falls in love with a bellhop and decides to stay in Jamaica. William shows up and surprises Yvonne with a marriage proposal. Toni hits it off with NFL star Terrell Davis and accepts his proposal, although she admits that she still loves Greg. Joan finally confesses that she told Greg about Toni's engagement to Clay, prompting Toni to attack her and storm off. Joan returns home to find Sean and Toni in a compromising position.

On the eve of their wedding, Yvonne learns that William hasn't told his mother about their relationship.

Joan decides to waive her ""three-month"" rule and sleep with Chris, but then receives a phone call from Sean. When she learns that Sean is back in town, she dumps Chris and expects to reunite with Sean. However, he stuns her by revealing that he is engaged. William expresses an interest in Lynn's co-worker, only to find that she is a lesbian with a crush on Lynn. Maya considers telling Darnell about her affair with Stan, but her friends talk her out of it. He soon discovers the truth in an unexpected way.

Maya's cousin Ronnie and his boyfriend, Peaches, tell Maya that they have spotted Darnell in a compromising position with a woman at the Red Lobster. It is the same woman that Joan once saw with Darnell years earlier. Maya confronts Cecily and learns that she is having an affair with Darnell. This leads the distraught Maya to declare that she and Darnell are now ""even"" and move back to the house, where she and Darnell make a decision about the future of their relationship. Meanwhile, William obsesses over the fate of a missing suitcase.

Lynn and Maya confront Joan about her jealousy and overall bad attitude regarding Toni's wedding. Joan is upset when Toni announces that Reesie Jackson, her college roommate, is coming to town to be a bridesmaid. Joan had forced Toni and Lynn to swear never to speak to Reesie again after she stole Joan's boyfriend, Brian. She is livid when she learns that Toni and Lynn have not only stayed in touch with Reesie, but are the godmothers of her two children. Joan gives Reesie the cold shoulder. She rants that Reesie stole her chance at a perfect life with a husband and kids. Reesie reveals that she has contracted AIDS from Brian. He had unprotected sex with men, refusing to take along condoms because he was in denial about the fact that he is gay. The girls try too hard to comfort Reesie, and freak out a little when she cuts herself while chopping vegetables. She assures them that they cannot contract HIV this way, but Joan initially remains a little skeptical. Toni picks out her

Toni's family comes to town, and Toni worries that her mother will embarrass her in front of Todd's parents by voicing her objections to their Jewish background. Mrs. Childs becomes dejected about the bickering between Toni and her older sister, Sherri--whom Toni refuses to include in the bridal party--and falls off the wagon. Meanwhile, William worries that he will lose one of his few male friends when the man begins dating Maya.

Joan's mother makes a surprise visit and constantly criticizes her, particularly anything regarding her decision to open the restaurant. Joan grows fed up with her lack of support and tells her off, prompting Carol to leave. Joan also grows tired of fighting with William about the restaurant. She decides to buy him out to preserve their friendship, but he refuses to accept the check. They discuss his previous love confession, and William angers Joan by saying that he was ""desperate."" A ranting Joan winds up admitting that she tried to go to his New York hotel room to confess her feelings. They kiss and admit their love for each other, but Joan collapses when her mother emerges in a bathrobe. Meanwhile, Maya is concerned when she discovers that Jabari has been watching pay-per-view porn.

Maya fears Jabari is growing up too fast. Joan is uncomfortable about using the bathroom at Aaron's house. Monica and William ask Lynn for sex advice.

Maya and Darnell meet a man they suspect is abusing his wife. Joan finds out Aaron does not believe in celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Joan runs into a figure from the past and makes a hasty decision that prompts Maya and Lynn to intervene.

Joan begins dating a client, Frank Anderson. Everything seems to be going well until a crazed woman shows up at the office looking for Joan. She tells Maya and Lynn that she trailed her husband to Joan's house. Joan angrily breaks up with Frank in public. She later learns that Toni has been using her house to rendezvous with her married boyfriend and assumes that she was wrong to suspect Frank of wrongdoing. However, Toni's boyfriend soon delivers some surprising news that sheds new light on the situation.

Joan forgives Toni for slapping her in Jamaica and trying to seduce Sean, much to the shock and dismay of Maya and Lynn (who has returned from Jamaica). When Joan's hair begins to fall out due to stress, she sees a therapist, who recommends that she cut Toni out of her life for good. However, this proves difficult when Toni seeks Joan's shoulder to lean on after a setback at work. Meanwhile, Darnell is upset by Maya's bixini wax, and accuses her of changing as the result of her association with the girls.

After an uncomfortable kiss, Maya realizes that she was wrong to get involved with Stan, and wants to stop seeing him. Stan, however, reveals that he has fallen head over heels, and refuses to give up on her. He seeks revenge by forming a friendship with Darnell and threatening to tell him about the affair. Meanwhile, William recuperates at Joan's house after being dumped by Yvonne.

Lynn persuades Toni to accompany her to Virginia, where she seeks Sandy's help before a presentation aimed at receiving a grant for her AIDS documentary. During the visit, Lynn meets her grandmother and learns a shocking secret about Sandy's health. After discovering how much money William is now earning, Maya tries to become his assistant in the hopes of improving her salary and returning to school. However, William will only sign off on the arrangement if Joan gives her approval.

Joan's enthusiasm about her new engagement is tempered when she learns that Brock doesn't want to have children, but she decides to relax and just focus on the immediate future. However, the issue continues to gnaw at her. Brock explains that, although his behavior may seem selfish, he believes it is wrong for someone to have children that they don't truly want. Joan tries desperately to change his mind; but he insists that they could be around kids by playing an active role in the lives of the children of family and friends. Joan ponders this for a while, but ultimately decides that she wants to have children of her own. Brock insists that they can have kids, but Joan fears that he would grow to resent her. They have a tearful break-up. William, determined to beat Joan to the altar, proposes to Lynn. He promises to support her financially and let her live at his place. Lynn learns that Joan and Brock have split, but keeps it to herself until after she has married William. Me

Maya invites Darnell's girlfriend, Lena, to her Christmas party in an effort to be civil. However, she grows jealous and gets Jalen to pose as her boyfriend. She is also furious when Lena gets Jabari a Game Cube (he wasn't supposed to get one because of his poor performance in school), and accuses the couple of not communicating with one another. Maya later catches Lena with a man at the bar, and winds up in the strange position of trying to help her with her relationship. Meanwhile, Joan gets really carried away while organizing a caroling outing for her friends.