Nathan must decide which parent to live with after the divorce, but Dan decides to force his hand by threatening to reveal Deb's darkest secrets in court unless Nathan chooses him. Meanwhile, Lucas meets a beautiful stranger who starts his head spinning.

The gang hits the road to Charlotte where Brooke is determined to win first place at the annual cheerleading competition, but when one of her squad falls ill, Peyton begs Haley to step into the cheerleader's shoes for a day. Meanwhile, after Whitey assigns Lucas and Nathan to the same room, tempers flare and Haley is caught in the middle.

Lucas, Nathan and Jake are auctioned off to the highest bidder in the annual "Boy Toy" charity auction and the night leads to surprising developments with old flames. Meanwhile, having missed out on the auction, Brooke ends up with Mouth and gives him the night of his life.

Lucas must make a difficult decision regarding Brooke. Haley considers having sex with Nathan.

While Nathan looks for an after-school job to pay his rent, Haley decides to throw a party at his apartment but panics when things get out of control. After a jilted Brooke realizes she was not invited to the festivities, she decides to crash the party with her new friend Nicki.

Lucas is shocked to learn that Dan once asked Karen for joint custody of Lucas when he was a baby. Meanwhile, Peyton panics after Nicki kidnaps Jake’s baby while she is babysitting.

Lucas and Nathan bear the brunt of Dan's abuse as he coaches them into the playoffs, pushing both of them to their breaking points. Haley is stunned after Dan threatens her, causing her to reconsider her relationship with Nathan. Meanwhile, Whitey learns that his medical condition may be more serious than he first expected, and Dan learns a shocking secret from Deb.