Brad convinces a reluctant Carly to break away from an impromptu birthday/pizza party for Parker at her house and go with him to the New Years's Eve Party at Donovan's. Later, Brad and Carly, unaware of the mounting infidelity rumors surrounding them, hit the dance floor. Furious, Katie spots them and threatens to charge Brad with adultery in the divorce.

Michael tells Susan that he's not going to let her go into the new year alone. Susan grunts that she's been through many alone before, but Michael stops her. She doesn't have to anymore, he says. Susan gets agitated thinking about how Michael just left her like that. Michael admits that what he did was cowardly, but he did it to make sure that Susan wasn't in anymore danger. Susan hauls off and slaps him, demanding he leave. Their pent up anger soon turns into red hot passion and the two make love on the living room sofa.

Dusty continue to charm Emily throughout the night. He admits that he never thought he could love again after Jennifer, but Emily has taught him that love comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. Flattered, Emily goes to the restroom to powder her nose. In the bathroom, Emily gets a call from Lucinda but the call is dropped due to bad signal. Later, Dusty shows Aaron and Alison the engagement ring that he bought Emily.

Slamming through the doors, Lucinda shoves the latest issue of the paper in Emily's face, ferociously barking if this is some kind of a joke. Emily's jaw hits the floor as she sees the headline "Lucinda Walsh Has Secret Past With New Businessman in Town". She turns to watch as Dusty, no doubt angry over her betrayal, storms out of the party. Aaron chases after him and learns that his grandma's new boyfriend used to be married to Lucinda when they were teenagers. And now, because of Emily, the whole town of Oakdale will soon know.

Carly threatens to inform Kim of Katie's "show" at the party, smirking that Kim would dump her in a minute to save the station from scandal. Katie hisses that Kim's better than that, but Carly reminds her how fast Molly got dumped years ago, thanks to Katie and Henry. Steamed, Katie stalks off after warning Carly to stay away from Brad--or else. Later, Carly runs into Lily and Holden, who are headed home to relieve Luke and Jade of babysitting duty.

Gwen corners Will and tells him that he's too much of a danger to Hallie to be around her. Will scoffs, asking Gwen if she's blind or if she really can't see that Iris set him up. Gwen rolls her eyes, moaning that everything is always about him. Will finally leaves, with Carrie closely behind. At the bar, Gwen confides in Alison that she doesn't know who Will is anymore.

Across town, Will takes Carrie to a cliff high in the hills. There, they sit on the edge and watch the fireworks from afar as Will vents about the situation with Gwen. Taken by the dazzling colors and the electric showers of light, the two get swept up in the moment and share a brief kiss. Alarmed, Carrie pulls away and changes the subject. Back at the party, Noah can't find Carrie anywhere and while looking for her, bumps into Luke.

Luke and Noah share an awkward silence before Noah finally admits he's looking for Carrie. Feeling bad for him, Luke points out that Carrie's just not that into him; he figured Noah would have gotten the clue by now. Hurt and angry, Noah walks off. Carrie soon returns and informs Noah that she would like to go home. Noah automatically thinks that Will tried something, but Carrie denies anything happened.

At the Wagon Wheel, Barbara recalls running into Craig at the Lakeview. He's not going to stop until he has this baby back, she warns. Cabot has now replaced Johnny in Craig's life. Rosanna realizes that this is a very sensitive situation, but Paul talks her into going forward with the kidnapping charges. After meeting with Rosanna, Margo finally finds Craig at the Lakeview bar. She nonchalantly arrests him, all the while reminding him that she warned him this would happen.

Having dropped off the kids with Emma, Lily and Holden walk through the lobby and witness the arrest. Lily is in shock at the sight of Craig standing before her. She tearfully hugs him, gasping that she can't believe he's alive. Meanwhile, Holden looks on with disapproving eyes.