When a coal mine collapses, Dr. Brown, together with Edna, Linda and Harold Abbott, rush to the scene to assist their neighbors. One miner is Will Cleveland (guest star James Earl Jones), a jazz pianist who has recently become Ephram's mentor. The other is Abbott's next door neighbor (guest star Beau Bridges), whose outrageous building plans Harold has tried to thwart. The third one, Andy's patient Ellie Beels (guest star Kirsten Nelson), who has been trying to conceive a baby. All three doctors utilize their special skills under terrible conditions, but it is Andy who must confront his biggest fears in order to save lives.

Ephram is horrified and heartbroken after he impulsively tells Madison (guest-star Sarah Lancaster) that he loves her and she doesn't reciprocate. Meanwhile, Linda naively agrees to watch Delia overnight so that Andy can accompany Ephram and his piano teacher, Will (guest-star James Earl Jones), to a jazz competition in Boulder, and Amy breaks up with Tommy (guest-star Paul Wasilewski) after realizing she might not be able to trust him again.

Ephram seeks guidance from his and piano mentor, Will Cleveland (guest-star James Earl Jones) when he's struggling to select the music program for his Julliard audition tape. Things don't go well for Ephram as he faces losing one of the most important relationships in his life after he accidentally hurts Will's feelings. Meanwhile, Bright takes a job working at the restaurant, "The Firehouse" where he meets waitress Serena. Things go bad though when they get caught by their boss in the most compromising position in the closet.

Lastly, Andy and Amanda experience a miraculous breakthrough in their music therapy with Amanda's husband (guest-star Jason Beghe), but Andy quickly questions the results.