Senator Tom Andrews has an opportunity to run for President, but his affair with newswoman Carly Knight stands in the way. Senator Andrews's wife, Gwen Andrews, knowing a divorce now would cost her husband the presidency, tells Carly that if Tom had to choose between Carly and the presidency, Tom would grow to hate Carly. After Carly calls off the affair, Senator Andrews announces his candidacy. Meanwhile, Holly Crane, Mrs. Cabot's niece, schemes to get Christine fired so she can assume her job. Holly poses as Christine in a phone call to Roy Iverson, Jr., offering sexual favors if he chooses the hotel for an upcoming convention. Peter tricks Holly into admitting she placed the call. Wallace Egan registers as Mr. and Mrs. Egan, but spends the whole time alone. The Egan's spent their honeymoon at the hotel, and though his wife died recently, Egan has returned for their anniversary. Mark's high school chemistry lab partner, Gloria, now 100 pounds lighter, is determined to get Mark to not

The TV show, Catch A Rising Star, uses the hotel ballroom for the finals of its talent contest, in which the top prize is a recording contract and $10,000 in cash. The hotel also welcomes top scientists in a NASA think tank, and FBI security is heavy. Julie unwittingly becomes a finalist in the talent contest because Dave and Megan submitted her tape. Although Julie would like the $10,000 to give to her grandfather's medical clinic in Africa, she's not interested in a singing career. Among the NASA scientists is Claire Talbot Ames, wife of Mike Ames, Peter's college roommate. When Claire finds evidence that Mike is a spy, she consults Peter. Peter and FBI agents catch Mike photographing a top-secret project, and Mike is gunned down. Hysterical, Claire rushes to the van where FBI agents have carried Mike's body. She finds him alive. It turns out that Mike was working with the Soviets, and his so-called shooting death was his way out. Meanwhile, Julie finds a mutual attraction with anoth

Continuing his efforts to take over the hotel, Charles Cabot evicts Peter from the hotel penthouse and searches the accounting records for evidence of wasteful spending. Charles's sister Jessica and family patriarch Uncle Jake align with Peter, forcing Charles to back down temporarily. With Peter sharing Christine's office and making managerial decisions that she should be making, Christine is forced to assert herself. Realizing that Peter will never give up his old office, Christine has a storeroom converted into her office. Rena Payne plots to have her young lover, Ray, murder her wealthy husband, Everett. Rena arranges to have Ray shoot Everett in her hotel room and to make it look like a robbery. Noticing that Billy carries a pistol, Rena sends Billy to her hotel room in the hope of eliminating both her husband and her lover. When Ray fails to go through with the plan, Rena is arrested. Julie is promoted to director of guest relations, and a new concierge, Elizabeth, is hired, but

Agoraphobia, or the fear of open spaces, has kept Laura Shafer confined to the hotel for three months. Laura's father, Al, who is a used-auto dealer, her jilted fiancé Kevin and Peter all try to help her, but to no avail. When Al's efforts to help his daughter end up doing more harm than good, Peter eventually convinces him to stop trying to run her life. With help from a counselor, Laura makes enough progress to reunite with Kevin. When Charles Cabot fails in courting Christine as an ally against Peter, he resumes his angry confrontation with Peter. Elizabeth, the new concierge, recognizes a film director, Harley Magnuson, and manages a romantic rendezvous with him in his hotel room. When Harley's wife arrives unexpectedly and catches them, Elizabeth has to talk Christine out of firing her. Shortly thereafter, Billy is puzzled to see Elizabeth meeting in private with Charles Cabot.

When John Lucas, a Missouri sheriff, checks in, his wife Jenny accuses Billy of murdering her brother six years ago. Charles Cabot informs Lucas of Billy's prison record, information the new concierge, Elizabeth, has provided from Christine's personnel files. Charles tries to use the opportunity to replace Billy with a security chief of his choosing. Traveling fur coat salesman and bigamist Freddy Barnes struggles to keep his two lives separate, when his wife of three years, Sonia, surprises Freddy at a convention to which he has brought his wife of eight years, Barbara. When Elizabeth is revealed as Charles Cabot's daughter, Christine doesn't fire her because Christine has sympathy for the fact that Charles is exploiting his daughter.

A fickle young heiress, Erica Atwood reconsiders her engagement to Chip Lansing, heir to Lansing Chemicals, a company with which Atwood Chemicals is on the verge of merging. To her family's dismay, Erica instead intends to marry Tony Patterson, a wildlife scientist and son of the Atwood's gardener. Tony initially learns of Erica's engagement at a disastrous dinner with Erica and her family. Erica's pragmatic older sister Isabel disapproves of Tony at first, then falls in love with him. Elizabeth seduces Peter's banker to get access to his personal investment file. The information turns out to be useless, and instead of being grateful, her scheming father, Charles, chastises Elizabeth for her wanton ways. Elizabeth later invites a strange man to her apartment; the man brutally rapes her. Because she was foolish enough to let the man in, Charles blames Elizabeth. Through Peter and Christine's mediation, however, Charles and Elizabeth take a small step toward reconciliation.

After army officers Nick Hauser and Rodger Gage check in for a weekend on the town, Rodger has an illicit rendezvous with his gay lover. In a gay neighborhood, street punks beat up Rodger, and Nick learns his army colleague's secret. Nick furiously demands that Rodger leave the hotel. Bellman Dave, who is Rodger's old friend, has a talk with Nick, helping him realize that Rodger is a good friend, regardless of his sexual orientation. Meanwhile, Elizabeth interferes with important communications between Christine and a potential client, making Christine look incompetent just as Charles Cabot is questioning Peter and Christine's managerial capabilities. Elizabeth also schemes to estrange Christine from Peter by spilling wine on her dress while visiting Peter. When Christine arrives to find Elizabeth wearing Peter's robe, Christine assumes the worst.