Las tres generaciones de Camden temen la visita anual de los padres de Eric, "El Coronel" (John Camden) y la abuela Ruth Camden. La tensión entre padre e hijo aumenta cuando tanto Eric como "El Coronel" quieren adoptar a un niño de 10 años sin hogar y huérfano, George. George se había escapado del orfanato donde se alojaba y estaba escondido dentro de la iglesia de Eric. Eric expresa abiertamente su desdén por las habilidades de crianza de sus padres. Mientras tanto, Annie descubre el destino de sus anillos de boda perdidos cuando los ve con una mujer en la tienda.

Cuando los padres de Eric regresan para visitar a su hijo recién adoptado George, de diez años de edad, se sorprenden al conocer al verdadero padre del niño, quien desea desesperadamente ser parte de su vida nuevamente. Annie intenta entusiasmar a la familia mientras está construyendo un bote de remos en el patio trasero. Mientras tanto, la hermana de Eric, Julie, sale de rehabilitación y tiene dificultades para reconectarse con sus padres y su familia en la casa de Camden. Además, con un poco de ayuda de Matt y Mary, Lucy intenta preparar a su novio Jimmy para encontrarse con sus abuelos formidables, "El Coronel" y la abuela Ruth.

Mary and Lucy selfishly make Matt feel 'guilty' he hasn't moved out yet, although Annie still hopes to keep him home in a garage apartment. They even get Hank to find him a menial morning job in the hospital cafeteria. But Simon feels desert when Matt takes an apartment with John Hamilton. Eric and Annie worry about the Colonel's attitude to Julie's marriage, but the grandparents have gone soft after an around-the-world trip, as George's crazy hairstyle illustrates. But the stress gives already-overworked Eric a mild heart attack.

Eric threatens Robbie with eviction because he thinks he's keeping secrets about Mary. The house is abuzz with secrets and preparations for an elaborate surprise party for Eric's birthday. Johnny drops Mercy on the Camdens' doorstep after Frankie abandons them. Mike trusts Lucy enough to look after his mother for a day, during which the woman surprises her, both by speaking and by what she says.

Robbie introduces Lucy to his friend Hugh, feeling she should date again, but gets jealous enough to separate them with lies. Matt stands up against the free clinic's staff and gets Hank to overrule Dr. Kent's diagnose-and-operate routine. Feeling incompetent as a waiter at Pete's Simon resigns, but he gets promoted because of his business-planning skills. Cued by Billy via George, Wilson and Mary (who is failing in firefighter training) realize it's time to decide whether to commit to becoming a family.

Robbie and Lucy gather the courage to tell everybody about their affair, only to find they all knew and don't really care. Without the thrill of sneaking, their first date fizzles. Ben Kinkirk and Mary both pass the firefighters course, but their meeting on whether to celebrate with classmates messes up Mary's reconciliation with fiancé Wilson., and Billy's questions make Wilson decide against her plan to elope. Matt discovers that Hank and Julie are planning a divorce, and Eric and Annie try to find out why and see if they can help fix it.