Terry tries hard to make sure that there won't be any physical or emotional relationship between her old friend Debbie and her brother Danny.

Terry Reynolds, longtime assistant to Gwen Leonard, creative executive at a Manhattan marketing and promotions firm, announces to Gwen that she's been let go from her job. The self-centered Gwen's reaction is predictable: she wonders how this will affect her. But she soon finds out that she's a victim of the same corporate downsizing. A few months later, Gwen shows up at the SoHo loft where Terry lives with her brother Danny, an aspiring writer who works at the bar downstairs run by Guy Mann. Without Terry to look after her finances, Gwen has spent all her money and has run up unpayable debts, resulting in her being kicked out of her high-priced condo. Desperate, she pleads with Terry to let her stay with her until she can get back on her feet. Part of that effort includes filing for unemployment benefits, where Gwen is confronted with the unsympathetic civil servant Mrs. Francis. Later Gwen tells Terry that their talents compliment each other and that they should go into business for

Gwen is depressed: she's been invited by the Mayor to present the Humanitarian of the Year Award, but she's mortified by the prospect of seeing her old acquaintances again and having to explain her poverty and unemployment. Ashley is upset too, worried that his dress won't be ready for the ""tri-state 'Hello Dolly' competition."" Gwen realizes for the first time that Ashley is Guy's son. Terry encourages Gwen to go to the gala anyway and reluctantly agrees to make a new dress for her. Gwen unsuccessfully tries to recruit Danny as her date for the evening, but has to settle for Guy. When Guy arrives to pick her up, Gwen promptly rips her gown in the loft's heavy door.

The resourceful Guy helps do a quick remodeling job on another dress--Ashley's--and Gwen is able to arrive at the gala looking good. At the gala, Gwen's pretentious friends ask about her dress and her date. Gwen says she's wearing a Terry Reynolds original and that Guy is a Spanish count. Guy surprises her by speaking fluent

Gwen and Terry are hoping to land a big account, Roberta York Cosmetics. But when they meets with Roberta, there's a problem. It seems that at her previous job, Gwen blamed Terry for her being late for a meeting with Roberta. Gwen doesn't remember what she said, but whatever it was makes Roberta very reluctant to work with Terry in the present. Later at the loft, a perturbed Terry jogs Gwen's memory: she told Roberta that she had to bail her assistant out of jail after a smash-and-grab jewelry store robbery!

Terry and Gwen tell Roberta the truth about what happened. Roberta is willing to forgive a troubled youth's past action, but she won't forgive Gwen's lying about it. So the women reverse their stoiries once again. But Gwen also forgot that she also told Roberta that Terry was mentally ill and needed medication. Terry's actions now convince Roberta that she's off that medication. Fnally Gwen talks Roberta into letting them work for her by pointing out the whole cosmetics industry is

Gwen is being driven crazy by the noises made by the broken tower clock in their building and wants to complain to the landlord Mr. Lux, despite the direst of warnings from Terry, Danny and Guy. Despite their pleas, Gwen thinks she can reason with this oddball with a penchant for predatory birds. Lux agreees to fix the clock, which then strikes so loud every hour that it's deafening everybody in the building.

Guy has found himself a new girlfriend who he proudly shows off to Gwen and Terry. Gwen is relieved that now she won't be the constant target of Guy's aspirations, but surprisingly she misses the attention he gave her and she becomes jealous of the new woman in his life. Also, Danny can't believe his good luck when he hooks up with a songwriter for a project he's working on. Unfortunately, he finds out the man was literally a song writer--he wrote one big hit years ago and hasn't come up with anything else since.

Gwen ambitiously wants to cook a Thankgiving dinner for everyone, but her plans are hampered by her lack of culinary skills and Danny's forgetting to buy a turkey. While an attempt is made to locate a bird on Thanksgiving Day, Gwen's mom Rita shows up unexpectedly, not knowing that her ex-lawyer Gordon, who once stood her up at the altar, was invited.