Louise has lunch with Frank Elliot, the owner of the New York Reporter, who informs her that he's considering selling the paper because it's losing money. Until that time, Elliot assigns an efficiency expert to recommend cutbacks. Jack's article on Chinatown sweatshops earns him praise at work but jeopardizes the livelihood of his source and gets him an ominous meeting with the godfather of Chinatown. Angela follows Adam Simms, a child killer released on parole, who returns to his neighborhood where he is unwanted. She changes her opinion of him when she meets his mother. Nan's nasty column on Fabio brings him to her office and he turns the table on her. Ellie is assigned to cover the Miss Big Apple pageant where she sees the deputy police commissioner in drag. After tracking him down and speaking to him, she has second thoughts about doing the story. Benny becomes a friend of Ellie. Mitch suffers chest pains and collapses.

Angela goes to her old neighborhood in Little Italy looking for leads on one of the mob families but ends up doing a story on domestic abuse that involves a former boyfriend. Jack's story on Joe Kessler, a second-string bomb squad expert, and his role in diffusing a bomb makes him a hero but the follow-up story makes Joe suicidal. Nan moves into a co-op and is invited to be on the board. When a famous fashion designer, who revealed she is a lesbian during the interview, is turned down for an apartment, Nan is at odds with the other board members. Tony, who has been secretly working on a novel, is upset with Victor because a copy of the manuscript was left on the copier. Ellie's series on city building-code violations turns up more dirt than she expected. She confronts temporary editor-in-chief Jim Kowalski with the new information but he tells her it doesn't matter. Ellie talks to Louise who confronts Jim. He calls Ellie a liar and dares Louise to verify Ellie's information. Louise goe