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A man holding an abortion clinic hostage will only deal with his ""ideological mentor,"" Marvin; Helen hires image consultant Brian Clayhill, who is bent on cutting the news staff fat and updating L.A. 3's on-air look, prompting one veteran newsman to resign before the axe falls; Ricardo attempts to comfort his mother while dealing with his own grief over his brother's murder; Harry gets ""ad-libs"" from Billy, the stand-up comic; and Helen begins a heated pursuit of Marvin.

It's contract renewal time for Harry, who lists among his demands a 10% across-the-board increase and ownership of the ""Beacon of Truth"" name. While General Manager Helen finds both Harry and his demands laughable, she starts to take both a little more seriously when it appears as if Channel 8 is courting The Beacon—a scenario that delights both Sherry and Ricardo.

Station General Manager Helen Forbes sets her sights on bedding commentator Marvin Seaborn, but her research into his past commentaries suggests that having her way with him may be trickier than she thought. Meanwhile, Eddie comes up with the perfect location from which to cover a major downtown fire—the roof of a competing station—and Brian the consultant is still looking for ways to ""cut the fat"" at KXZX.

The Re-Action News team is called into emergency service when a earthquake hits Los Angeles, pulling Liz, Ricardo, Joe and Peggy from cocktails at Aloha Louie's; preventing Sherry from returning to Harry's bed, where she had left him handcuffed in his underwear; and forcing Tommy and Eddie into a confrontation over Eddie's intentions in regards to Tommy's estranged wife.

When Peggy crashes her car, the result of a brake job paid for but never performed, Alex sends Nancy and Sean undercover to prove that Uncle Sam's car repair is a crooked operation. Unfortunately, it's also the station's biggest client. Meanwhile, the image consultant, Brian, begins his cosmetic overhaul of the news and Eddie and Tommy try to cope with Eddie's live-in relationship with Tommy's wife.

When the overnight recovery of a Hispanic shooting victim is attributed to a shadow resembling the Virgin Mary suddenly appearing on a local garage door, a reluctant Liz is assigned to cover the story, which itself prompts many in the newsroon—especially a troubled Sherry—to examine their religious beliefs. Meanwhile, Nancy and Eddie set off to do a story in war-torn Nicaragus, accompanied by a severly out-of-place Ricardo.

After escaping their captors in the Nicaraguan jungle, Ricardo, Eddie and nancy make it to the orphanage, where they find ransacked buildings and four terrified kids. Meanwhile, Marvin finally succumbs to Helen and, after a long hiatus from the street beat, Harry tries his hand at reporting.

Considering Tommy has moved onto Eddie's houseboat and Eddie has moved in with Tommy's wife, the news brothers decide it may be time to break up the team. But when they're forced to work together one last time, their mutal anger turns physical; Feeling sexually used after the break-up of heir ""relationship,"" Marvin tricks Helen into a confession; Rick gets his chance to produce when the station takes on a live rock 'n' roll special at the last minute; and while Sean visits his mother with hopes of getting his parents back together, Alex and Nancy—after weeks of trying not to—finally get closer.