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.