Lillian Price, the new medical director, arrives at Angels of Mercy Hospital to help the struggling hospital get its accreditation back. She finds herself supervising -and clashing- with her former lover, Dr. Ben Turner, who is acting chief of surgery. Meanwhile, an elderly woman refuses to undergo emergency surgery that could save her life; and a resident botches an operation that he undertook without permission.
The hospital is threatened with a $5 million wrongful termination suit. Ben and Lillian rekindle their former passion when they are stuck in a closet during a fire drill. Williams jeopardizes a gunshot victim's life when he allows a man with a less severe injury to be operated on first; and Javier confesses to Ed that he is again using cocaine.
O'Malley enters the hospital for surgery and brings along his own private physician. Hattie Brewster suffers a stroke and Lillian discovers that Verlynne is back on drugs. Meanwhile, Jackson rescues Williams from a deranged patient.
Ben tries to save the life of a 2-year-old boy who was beaten. Guerrero threatens to reveal that O'Malley supplied him with cocaine. Jackson treats a homeless woman who claims she has sickle-cell anemia; and Prince threatens to bring legal action against Lillian and the hospital if she doesn't appoint him chief of surgery.
Prince nearly botches an operation and threatens Williams for disobeying his orders. Weiss has dinner with Grace's father and comes away shell-shocked; and Lillian tries to determine why an 11-year-old boy was operated on without parental consent.
Eveline, 25 weeks pregnant, rescues a woman from being raped - but is then run down by the would-be rapist's car. Meanwhile, a severed human hand is found on a patient's food tray causing Harris to worry that it will interfere with the hospital's chances of getting accredited.
A man is admitted with a hatchet buried in his head. The staff caters to a crusty physician who will determine whether the hospital receives accreditation. Dr. Syphax confronts Ben over his feelings for Lillian; and Lillian makes a surprising decision that displeases O'Malley.
Ben believes he's found a liver donor for a 17-year-old who has been on a waiting list for three years. Then a suspected murderer with a chronic liver condition comes in, and moves ahead on the waiting list. Meanwhile, a former patient sues the hospital claiming that he was rendered impotent by a botched hernia operation performed by Ben.
Ben is stopped for a traffic violation and harassed by a white police officer. Grace's father worries that he may have prostate cancer; and Lillian fights for much needed equipment when she learns the hospital has received an unexpected $20 million from the county.
Lillian tries to get an 18-year-old gang member to accept responsibility for his newborn child. Ben tries to persuade Grace's frightened father to undergo surgery; and Wesley treats a gunshot dog when its 10-year-old owner, who has also been shot, refuses to enter the hospital if his pet can't come with him.
Wesley comfronts a 14-year-old girl who suffers from colitis, and he becomes convinced that Ana likes him. Ben tries to save an elderly physician from being fired; and Jackson treats a homeless man who believes he is the King of England.
O'Malley comes to the hospital after having been beaten during a mugging. Lillian agrees to have breakfast with her former husband, who drops a bombshell on her. Ben tries to convince a homeless man to let him perform a life-saving operation; and Wesley accuses Ben of unfair treatment after Ben chews him out following a botched diagnosis.
Ben believes O'Malley may be suicidal after he finds the chairman catatonic - and wearing a dress. A college all-star running back is paralyzed in a car accident and wants to die rather than face a future without football; and Harris tries to keep a personal medical condition secret but finds it difficult to do so.
A rapist terrorizes the hospital and causes the nurses to refuse to work night shifts. Also, Ben clashes with the medical director, and welcomes Dr. Raleigh Stewart, the new plastic surgeon, and a new psychiatrist.
Ellis works overtime to prepare for her father's impending visit, causing her to grow cranky to the point of mistreating an obese patient. A circus clown attempts suicide. Peeler unwittingly gives damaging testimony against Ben; and Grace breaks up with Weiss.
Ben's mentor, Dr. Langston Ellis, visits the hospital and quickly causes problems with his condescending attitude. The rapist terrorizing the hospital strikes again; and a gunshot groom refuses surgery until he is married to his bride, who is about to give birth to their baby.
Nurses threaten to walk off the job unless a rapist is caught. Ben suggests Ambrose step aside during a complicated surgery. Gewn is confronted by the brother who once raped her; and Damon is furious after being demoted by Ben for trying to cover up a near-fatal mistake.
After Ambrose botches an operation, Ben and Stewart go behind his back and perform the correct surgery, which leads Ambrose to discipline them both. A patient keeps eating people's possessions. Ellis's misdiagnosis nearly costs a boy his life; and Chanley receives some disturbing news.
Dr. Chanley is an emotional wreck after she performs a life-altering operation on the wrong patient and then informs Ambrose that she's pregnant with his child, which he doesn't want. Meanwhile, Syphax and Jackson are rudely received when they drive the hospital's new mobile diagnostic vehicle into a rough neighborhood.
Ben is asked by a terminally ill teen to not perform a scheduled operation on him, even though his parents want it done. Williams orders a Thanksgiving turkey from a questionable source and is surprised at how fresh it really is. An elderly woman, who claims she can sense when death is appraching a person, causes Stewart and Ellis to rethink a patient's diagnosis.
A 12-year-old Somalian girl bleeding from a ritual circumcision is brought in by her older sister. A kidney becomes available to transplant but the patient can't be found. A husband isn't sure if he wants his wife to get reconstructive surgery that will make her beautiful; and Ben receives two unexpected kisses from two different women.
Three gang members burst into the emergency room to kil a wounded rival and then hold several doctors and patient's hostage when police arrive before they can escape.