After Mary unexpectedly un-invites her family to watch her play basketball at an important game, the Camdens begin to make other plans for themselves. Lucy is angry with Mary because she invited Ashley--a popular girl in Lucy's school, to her game. Simon, Ruthie, and Happy get lost in town while pretending to be spies and following their mailman all over town. Lucy was supposed to to be babysitting them, but was instead entertaining herself and Ashley by talking on the phone with her boyfriend Jimmy Moon. Eric is faced with counseling a young boy who is once again back on his drug habit that is affecting his family.

Simon rightly fears he'll catch roommate Ruthie's chicken-pox, but his enterprising hygienic measures fail to prevent contagion from her, or from Happy's fleas. When a robber carjacks them, Annie seems calm and hands their valuables, so Matt feels 'unmanly' and guilty. However, Anne breaks down at an identification lineup. Jimmy Moon stands against Lucy in the school elections, then turns to her parents for help. The church organist veers bizarrely from brilliance to disharmony.

The school bully experiences a severe lapse in judgment when he tries to sexually harass Mary.

After a failed table-spread trick before the arrival of his new magic kit, the 'Great Simoni' can't convince Ruthie to act as his assistant because she'd rather wear the cape even without aspiring to become a magician; Lucy's grades slip as she starts hanging out with 'the laid-back crowd'; Eric's church is in the running for weekly local TV broadcasts if next Sunday's liturgy goes well, and he obsesses over writing the perfect sermon; Mary considers quitting basketball when Coach Koper is focused on a new star player; while Annie spends a long day running errands, Matt bows out of keeping order at home. After Ruthie answers a phone call from the Colonel and tells him what's going on, he turns up unexpectedly to 'assume domestic command.'

Even bright teacher's pet Simon is terrified by new bully science teacher Hunter to the point of faking illness to avoid a private meeting with her about his solar system model, which actually is part of a superb presentation. Softie Matt already turned down dates to the party after Mary's return to the basketball team, yet she complains to everyone, even hunky jock ex Richard, who ends up making her day.

Simon's classmate Mark Huff's father Carl is stopped by a light push from caring biology teacher Lane to storm at his boy. When Carl complains to the principal, Simon dares only say he didn't get a clear view, then feels morally guilty for not having prevented a fine teacher being suspended, later even dismissed. Eric finds out Carl is a domestic bully and gets Lane reinstated. Matt and his friend Scott misread apparently sexual signals from a teaching assistant, which causes repeated havoc for Matt. Rather then let Annie chose a disastrous 'pregnancy project', Eric arranges a handsome piano teacher, Josh, who flirtatiously restores her self-esteem.