Jared and Samantha's relationship is strained after he finds himself unknowingly caring for her mother when she is admitted to Ward 17 for a hip replacement and he finally learns why Sam has been hiding details of her personal life from him. Ben and Bron clash when she doesn't follow procedure while dealing with a heroin-addicted mother at the scene of a car accident. Forced to file a report on the incident, Ben then accuses Bron of taking advantage of their friendship. Von finds herself in the middle of a love triangle as she tries to keep a patient's wife and mistress from meeting one another. Luke's patient, a recovering drug addict, refuses pain medication after surgery leaving Terri to seek out alternative treatments. Meanwhile, Connor celebrates a birthdayand another temporary ward clerk joins the team.

Mitch is forced to confront his fears when a cancer patient refuses treatment. He embarks on a campaign to make his patient change his mind but ending up drunk and alone, he bangs on Terri's door. Steph gets starry-eyed about a possible promotion when Joan recommends Terri for a new position as her replacement. Bron gets the "relative from Hell" when she finds herself under constant scrutiny by a patient's daughter during her ward shift. Meanwhile, Jared blames Connor when Samantha's mother takes a fall and Ward 17 is finally sent a charming, polite and quick ward clerk… but for how long?

It's a heartbreaking time for Samantha when her mother does not respond to treatment for pneumonia and a wound infection. She finds she cannot cope with her impending death and Jared is shocked when she drops a bombshell on him. When an eager young bystander rescues an alcoholic from a blazing warehouse, Ben suspects foul play while Bron learns that ego is a dirty word. Meanwhile, Mitch uses his voodoo skills to help a deluded patient.