On Salem Island, Marlena reads her exposition diary aloud to summarize her ordeal so far. As she is deep in thought, a machete wielding Maggie drops by to welcome her. After they giggle over Maggie's murder, Maggie tells Marlena that she was out clearing paths with Jack when they got separated. Marlena then informs Maggie about the addition of Jennifer's name to the plaque. While Jennifer's arrival is worrisome, talk soon turns to how much better off they are on the island than their spouses back home who live without hope. Maggie knows about Bonnie but refuses to believe Mickey will move on and marry Bonnie.
Back in real Salem, Mickey looks around his house for Jennifer's insurance card that was mistakenly mailed to the Horton Foundation. Bonnie arrives with his dry cleaning and his cowboy costume for the grand opening of "Alice's." Once Mickey has calmed down, he goes to try on his duds while Bonnie tries to make a call to the Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, Julie is calling just as Bonnie picks up. A speechless Julie listens as Bonnie confides in her that she will soon be "Mrs. Horton." Mickey learns that Jennifer has stabilized and celebrates with Bonnie by dancing. Julie enters, overhears some ambiguous talk, and thinks Bonnie and Mickey are having sex. Angry, Mickey asks Julie to leave but not before she informs Bonnie that she was the one on the phone.
Philip and Belle discuss Shawn, this time down on the docks. Belle comes up with a foolproof plan to get Shawn back with the help of John but won't tell Philip what the plan is. The two go off in search of John.
Sami continues to flirt with D.A. Ray Diaz at the bar of the Blue Note while Lucas sits with Kate in the corner and swears it is over for them. Kate worries that she passed on her weakness for the wrong people gene and hypothesizes that perhaps all Sami and Lucas were meant to have between them was Will. After hearing about a particularly inspiring case of embezzlement, Sami kisses D.A. Diaz on both cheeks. The gesture does not go unnoticed by Philip and Belle who have just entered the Blue Note and more importantly, by Lucas. Outraged, Lucas goes over to Sami and demands that she tell Diaz who he is. A calm yet anxious Sami pleads that Lucas let her talk to Diaz. Instead, Lucas gives an ultimatum: him or me.
Nicole tries to get Crystal off to the Cayman Islands but she refuses to leave John. They go into the living room to find Brady and John who has just learned from Tek that Crystal was in jail with Marlena. He demands an explanation of her involvement in the death of his wife. Eventually Crystal cracks and confesses, "It was because of me that Marlena is dead."
On the tropical island (New Salem), Roman tries to get Marlena to remember events prior to her "death." Marlena thinks back and remembers how Crystal tried to kill her in jail and realizes that clearly wasn't part of their host's plan. Someone besides the island host actually wanted her dead. Marlena wonders what would have happened to their host's plan if she had been killed. Abe shows up with Jack's bloody knapsack and fear that Jack is dead.
Crystal tells John she is guilty of killing Marlena with "kindness." Not believing, John continues to press and Crystal lies, telling him that his wife was not the saintly Marlena they all knew. Crystal says in the end it wasn't the guard's bullet that killed her; it was John's betrayal. Crystal says the reason Marlena tried to escape was so that she could come after John and kill him. Upset Brady tells his dad not to believe her; Marlena died loving him. Nicole says at least they can't pin Marlena's murder on her. John says maybe not, but he's still suspicious of Nicole and Crystal and vows to continue his investigation. Privately, John warns Brady about Crystal and Nicole and he wants Brady out of the house. Nicole vows to have a life with Brady.
Sami and Lucas reach an impasse and Lucas again declares they are history. At his apartment, Kate urges her son to move on but Lucas says Sami is under his skin. Philip thinks Kate needs to take her own advice but she answers that her time has come and gone - Roman was the last man she'll ever love. Later, Kate runs into John on the pier. John asks if she believes he betrayed Marlena... Kate hugs him and reassures John he did the right thing by taking Marlena to prison.
At the Blue Note, Sami ditches Ray and Belle tries to talk some sense into her sister. Sami guilts Belle about Shawn and spending time with Philip and ends up grilling her about her new charity job at Basic Black. Sami steps up her plan to destroy Kate.
Jennifer returns home from the hospital with Lexie and Patrick and is spooked by another sign from Jack. Worried for Jennifer, Patrick keeps an eye on her and is unable to reach the mystery man. Alone, Jennifer hears Jack's voice on the computer.
At the country house, Shawn is upset as he stares at the photos of Philip and Belle on Jan's computer. Jan works on Shawn to intensify his doubt of Belle's commitment to him. Shawn continues to believe in Belle's love. Jan allows Shawn to take a shower and spies on him as he bathes. Shawn sees Jan peeping at him and chases her to get the keys. They wind up in the cage where naked Shawn grabs Jan's ankle, pulls her down and it looks like he may finally escape...
Philip has spent the night on Belle's sofa. Belle is still trying to reach John about her plan to get Shawn to come back to her. Philip has taken an extended leave and is looking for a place to stay so Belle suggests he sublet Mimi's half of the loft. In Shawn's loft, Rex and Mimi again discuss Rex's fear that Philip is making a move on Belle in Shawn's absence. Mimi thinks Rex is overreacting. Rex and Mimi go to Belle's loft and Belle proposes that Mimi rent her half of the loft to someone else. Rex and Mimi are shocked when they learn it is Philip. After Mimi and Rex leave, Belle can't believe they thought something was going on between her and Philip. Has Philip ever heard anything so crazy?
In the morning, Jennifer is upset to learn that Abby has left for camp without saying good-bye... or giving Jennifer a chance to learn whether Abby was the one who ate some of Jack's birthday cake last night. The icing was all eaten off... that's what Jack used to do. Patrick gently reminds Jennifer of all the reasons Jack can't still be alive. Jennifer is still convinced he's been sending messages to her. Patrick calls the mystery man and tells him to stop gaslighting Jennifer. The mystery man tells Patrick if he interferes, he's a dead man. Meanwhile, Jennifer gets another message from Jack on her computer, confirming that he is alive. A private plane will pick her up at the old airfield at 9 o'clock tonight. Patrick discovers Jennifer packing a suitcase!
It's the day of the opening of Alice's restaurant. On the island, Maggie shares memories of sophisticated Tuscany with Alice and Doug. At Alice's we comically contrast this with Bonnie's outlandish preparations for Tuscany's rebirth as a down home country bar.
Lucas rushed out of his shower when Sami hysterically knocked on the door after getting an emergency message from Will. While it was only steam from the shower that set off the smoke detector, Lucas was steamed at Sami's kissing D.A. Diaz at The Blue Note. Will overheard Lucas's frustration over Sami's change in attitude about their future together. When Sami challenged her son for lying about an emergency, Will was quick to observe, "You lie sometimes to get what you want." Suggesting his parents "be nice to each other" and attend the Horton Benefit together, Will privately told Lucas to "make it happen." But after Will left for camp, Lucas told Sami, "Our kid wants something he can never have, Sami. Congratulations. We're going to break our son's heart." Refusing to accept blame for their disagreements, Sami angrily stormed out but outside the door she nearly cried.
At Alice's Bar, plans were under way for a Horton Foundation Benefit when an alarm sounded from the kitchen. Julie's sarcastic observation came to pass when Bonnie found the cook had passed out from drinking. Breaking up a fight between the two women, Mickey asked Julie to cook. Julie's initial reply was, "Uncle Mickey, not on your saddle sore!" But agreeing to do it for the Foundation's sake, Haute Cuisine Julie defied Jalapeno Bonnie's request for "country fried", offering "gourmet" food instead.
At Basic Black, Kate found John had been there all night. Still investigating Marlena's death, John could only find testimony from the Prison Guard that Crystal was in lockdown when Marlena apparently escaped. John felt comfortable having a fellow spouse of a victim to share his feelings with. Disappointed with Shawn, he agreed with Kate that Philip and Belle would make a great couple. Deciding to put their cares aside temporarily, John and Kate planned to attend the Benefit Party at Alice's Bar.
At the Loft, Belle still wouldn't reveal her plan to get Shawn back. As Philip moved into the apartment, he fantasized about becoming more than just Belle's friend. When Belle didn't respond to his call, Philip found their high school yearbook opened to a page with Jan's picture. "Jan Spears. Thank God she's gone." But reopening the book, Philip seemed to be getting an idea.
At Jan's, Shawn failed at getting the keys from Jan. Scrambling out of the cage, Jan left Shawn with clothes that were deliberately too small, and around the cage hung photos she had taken of Belle and Philip together. As Shawn convinced himself that Belle still loved him, he heard her voice in the next room asking, "What's going on here?" Looking through a crack in the door, Shawn thought he saw Belle and cried out to her.
And at Jennifer's, Patrick tried to make Jennifer see the impossibility of Jack being alive when he saw her packing a bag. While Jen held out hope that Jack was alive and communicating with her, she told Patrick the bag was for the hospital if she went into labor. Hearing Patrick's concern, Jen asked if he had feelings for her. Patrick said he needed a friend but thought Jen's gratitude for his past help sounded like a goodbye. Saying she was merely going to shower, Jen brought her luggage to the car. But she was surprised by Patrick stopping her saying, "Did you labor start or are you going to meet Jack?"
In his cage, Shawn realized Belle was not outside the door. But Jan's latest costume was an imitation of Belle. Pulling off her wig, Jan ripped off the head off a blond-haired doll, predicting that Belle would be losing her head over another man. Jan's passing remark about killing someone made Shawn curious. Jan could only recall Victor's body lying in the bathtub, thinking Shawn would never want her if he knew.
At the Loft, John and Kate stopped by to see Belle who now revealed her plan to find Shawn. Knowing Shawn's interest in NASCAR, Belle asked John to use his connections to make an announcement during the race's broadcast. Already annoyed with Shawn, John agreed to help under one condition. John insisted that Belle promise to move on and forget Shawn if the plan didn't work.
In the kitchen of Alice's Bar, Julie planned a victory over Bonnie expecting her gourmet meal to rival Tex Mex. Meanwhile, Bonnie fantasized her own success as Mickey's wife, Woman of the Year, with Julie as her personal slave. Julie stepped out of the kitchen and met Jennifer who arrived to support the Horton Foundation. Concerned about Jen's beliefs about Jack, Julie sent Mickey to talk to Jen. Patrick had followed her there, and got a message from his underground friend that Jen's time was running out.
Meanwhile, Bonnie changed Julie's recipe. Adding everything from hot sauce to chili pepper, from Tabasco Sauce to jalapenos, Bonnie combined a few beans with Julie's meal. The finishing touch was a considerable amount of Tequila. Unaware, Julie was shocked, as she tasted her spiked haute cuisine. But the greatest shock came when Mickey seemed to be having an attack after sampling the chili.
But when Mickey declared, "I love it! My mouth is on fire, and it's delicious!" other patrons had a serving, including Kate, John and Philip. Bonnie ruined Rex and Mimi's matching Country-Western attire by tearing off Rex's shirt down to his undershirt as his uniform for bartending. Seeing to it that Philip removed his shirt as well, Bonnie celebrated the Club's success dancing with Mickey while Philip and Belle rode the electric bull.
Outside Jen wished on Jack's star that she would see him tonight when Patrick's hand on her shoulder frightened her. Mentioning a lucky star, Jen was unaware of Patrick's friend nearby saying, "Too bad Jennifer's luck just ran out." Inside, Kate was encouraging Philip to take advantage of Shawn's absence while Belle was defending him to John. And as Patrick danced with Jen, he told her that Jack's messages could be from someone trying to hurt her, and that he promised to keep her safe.
