This year the town's charity Bachelor Auction host will be -- Marin Frist! Meanwhile the relation between Patrick and Annie is ready to go to the next step, meeting Patrick overprotective mother, and another relationship gets more complicated - that of Ben and Theresa.

Because Marin has been away from New York for awhile now, people there are beginning to forget her and are starting rumors she could be dead. When the Elmo town elder passes away, Elmo's sister city breaks its ties with the town just before the New Moon Festival, and Marin sees an opportunity to be useful by finding a new sister city for Elmos.

As Elmo experiences a record heatwave, Marin realizes the energy bars she has been feeding the raccoon are making him sick. When she turns to Jack for help, she discovers something between them has changed.

Marin wants to find out if you really can be friends after you've spelt together. She asks Jack to take her to Anchorage so she can get a dose of culture. Patrick begins to wonder if there is a problem in his relationship with Annie, because she always asks him to leave right after they've been intimate. Meanwhile, Ben gets tired of having to sneak around with Sara, and he asked Theresa to move out.

Marin is surprised not only by the birthday party that the people of Elmo are throwing her, but her younger sister shows up as well. Her sister immediately has the hots for Jack and wants to marry him. Marin is left feeling insecure by her sister, because all the attention is now on her. Buzz informs Patrick that he found a plane on the mountain while he was out flying. The plane belongs to Patrick's dad and it went down over 26 years ago. Patrick starts to wonder if it is possible that his father survived the crash somehow and is still out there. Sara is officially dating Ben now, and that makes Theresa mad.

Marin tries to help Patrick and Buzz build their relationship, but things go haywire when Celia reveals they are actually related to one another. Marin and Annie need to unwind and go to a beauty salon. Sara begins to feel nervous about taking her EMS exam as she thinks about the future. Marin and Jack head out in search of friends who have been trapped by an avalanche caused by minor earthquake tremors.

After Jane leaks an excerpt from Marin's new book on men to The New Yorker magazine, Marin is forced to defend her career to Jack. Elmo receives a special guest singer-songwriter Jewel, whose car has broken down. She runs into her former bandmate, Theresa, in the Chieftain. Meanwhile, Celia and Patrick's new stepmother, Mai, face each other in an alpha showdown for the role of "top mom."

When Marin goes back to New York during Thanksgiving week to meet with editors regarding publishing her new book, the emotions between her and Jack escalate. Although she is happy to be back in a more familiar environment, she misses her life back in Elmo.Meanwhile, Jack has decided it's time for him to make his move concerning his "friendship" with Marin, but an unexpected event changes his plans. Thanksgiving week is a headache for most of the Elmoians. Patrick must choose between spending Thanksgiving with Annie in New York or with his new family, and Ben is hoping Theresa will help him prepare for their annual Orphan Thanksgiving.

While Jack is waiting for Marin to return from New York, he receives an unexpected visitor who has arrived in Elmo with a secret. In the meantime, the relationship between Annie and Patrick hasn't gotten better after he neglected her at Thanksgiving dinner. Theresa and Ben ponder their future, Jane and Sam ("Plow Guy") spend a romantic time together in New York.While everyone is busy with their own lives, Buzz faces a medical crisis.

While Marin is waiting for Lynn to leave Elmo and Jack, Annie thinks that Patrick can't have a relationship until he can survive without his mother. Meanwhile, Celia gets a visit from her out-of-town boss, Sarah comes back to Elmo and gets a surprise when she sees Ben and Theresa back as a couple. Back in NY, Jane wonders if she wants to keep a long-distance relationship with Sam "Plow Guy."

Marin volunteers to help at a rummage sale to deal with writer's block and her problems with Jack. She also gets an unexpected visit from Stuart Maxson, who wants to discuss the second chapter of her new book.

While Marin moves into her rustic mountain cabin and finds some unexpected visitors, Jane unintentionally neglects Sam ("PlowMan"). In the meantime, Sara fills in at the Chieftain while Theresa takes care of Ben. Patrick is concerned he will not be able to give Annie the wedding of her dreams, and Celia admits to dating her boss, Richard.

Marin receives an invitation from Stuart to join him on an overnight ski trip. Jack accompanies Lynn to the doctor for a sonogram, and Patrick tells Annie that he once made a donation to a sperm bank. Jane and Sam ("Plow Guy") teach each other some of life's secrets, while Buzz meets someone from his past.

Marin meets Cash, an attractive loner, who is the local handyman, when she can't get her construction crew to do what she wants on her cabin. Buzz's attempts to be supportive are thwarted when he learns George's secret. Meanwhile, Marin is torn as she tries to decide if she should attend Lynn's baby shower, and Jane tries to establish her New York business in Elmo so she can spend time with Sam.

While Jack and Lynn's relationship gets more complicated, Patrick decides that he wants Annie's father to agree to their marriage. Meanwhile, a new visitor, Cash, moves into Marin's cabin temporarily in exchange for repairing it.