In the storeroom, Barbara awoke, startled by her strange surroundings. Chuckles the Clown was no longer talking, so Barbara mused aloud how sick she was of eating nothing but candy and, even more important, of being alone. She urged Chuckles to speak again, but he had slumped over so Barbara raised his head, and Chuckles had turned into James Stenbeck. He grinned at her and said, "Hello, Barbara. Miss me?"

Barbara leapt to her feet as James agreed that she could still call him Chuckles if she so chose. She tried to get her nightmare to go away, but James reminded her how much more interesting her life had been when he was around. They talked, and James claimed that he was there to "woo" her, since he was the only one who really loved her. Barbara ordered James to leave her hallucination immediately, but he declared that it was their fate to be together forever. Then he grabbed Barbara and gave her a long kiss until she shoved him backwards as hard as she could. "That's my girl," Stenbeck said with a grin.

Then James turned serious and began talking about all the things Barbara had to be ashamed about, such as hating Rose D'Angelo so much that her son Will had poisoned Rose just before her wedding to Paul. James was very angry that Will was scarred for life by that event and his subsequent incarceration. Barbara cried that she would not allow James to control her anymore, and she called him "pure evil." Then James began taunting her about Henry, his "lightweight son," and suddenly Henry appeared in the hallucination. He warned "Pop" to leave Barbara alone, but James humiliated Henry and told him to get out.

Henry said that "Daddy dearest" was wrong, and he swore that he had married Vienna because he thought she was pregnant. James belittled him further, as Henry regretted his mistakes. Finally Barbara began to doubt Henry, and he vanished. James next attacked her other sons, and Paul appeared. He told his mother that he was only half-heartedly looking for her in Oakdale because Emily would be much happier if they didn't find her. Paul vanished, but Barbara took heart that at least her younger son, Will, loved and respected her. James reminded her that it was ironic that Will had actually killed someone and been locked up, so he was more like James's son than the others.

Will appeared and told his mother that he had a wife and child counting on him, so that left him very little time to take on Barbara's dramas. Will disappeared, and Barbara began clutching her head. James needled her about how her sons didn't care about her because she had done so much damage. Barbara shouted that she didn't need anyone any longer because she was a survivor. She grabbed Chuckles and shook him, and he was, once again, just a doll. "I won!" yelled Barbara.

Paul picked the popcorn box from the trash can and found the jeweled bracelet inside, right where Emily had stashed it. He said it was his mother's bracelet and asked Emily why she had discarded it. Emily didn't answer, but instead walked away with Eliza. They all returned to Fairwinds, where Emily apologized for her impulsiveness. She said that watching Eliza play with the bracelet reminded her of all the times that Barbara had tried to drive a wedge between her and Paul. Paul shouted that his mother was part of their family whether Emily liked it or not.

Emily called Barbara "a monster" and repeated that the woman had never wanted her and Paul to be happy. Paul promised his wife that Barbara would not hurt her, but Emily was certain that his mother was "holed up in some swanky hotel drinking expensive champagne" and manipulating her sons.

At Memorial, Henry took the first step in forgiving Katie for perpetuating Vienna's lies. Katie was hopeful and said she wished she knew where to begin making it up to Henry. She had no clue where to look for Barbara, and Henry was still worried that Vienna had engineered his lover's disappearance. Katie really thought her former friend was not involved, and she reasoned that if Barbara was really in Oakdale and had used her credit card, then that meant she was hiding from them. Katie thought it might be possible to lure Barbara out if someone she couldn't resist implored her to, and that person was Henry.

Gwen and Will, unaware that anyone was in Barbara's hotel room, were just about to open the door to search for clues when Will's phone rang. The caller was Henry, who told Will that Katie had just thought of a pretty good idea. She wanted Henry to go on television and make an appeal to Barbara to contact them. Will said he had plenty of pictures of his mother on his cell phone, and he promised to take them to WOAK immediately. Gwen said she wanted to go, as well, so they left for the television station. After they left, a woman walked out of Barbara's room, and the maid addressed her as "Ms. Ryan."

At WOAK, a tech uploaded Will's photos as Will and Gwen asked if Henry knew what he wanted to say. Katie began the program interruption and introduced Henry, a.k.a. "Geneva Swift," who had an important announcement. Henry spoke directly to Barbara; he told her that he loved her and wanted her back. He went on to say how he had not followed his heart, and wished she would return. Henry promised to move heaven and earth to find her. Katie gave a contact number and signed off. Henry removed his wedding ring, and Katie remarked that he obviously really loved Barbara. The producer ran in and announced that someone had spotted a woman matching Barbara's description in Old Town, so Katie and Henry took off.

Will left the station and went to Fairwinds, where he walked in on Paul and Emily's argument. He overheard Paul scolding Emily for keeping evidence from him and Will. Paul explained how Schotzie had called about the bracelet, and he verified that the jewelry was his mother's. He also said that Emily had thrown it away in Old Town, but when Will got angry, Paul defended his wife and told Will to "back off." Will told them that Henry had gone on television and made an appeal for Barbara to return. Paul thought a while and then said if he didn't know that James Stenbeck was dead, he would think his father was involved.

After Gwen left WOAK, she went shopping in Old Town and was gobsmacked when Iris, wearing a Barbara Ryan-style wig, approached her and said, "Hi, baby. Mama's back!" She explained that she had been near Chicago when she saw the broadcast, so she had hurried back to Oakdale because her heart went out to Will and Gwen. She treated Gwen to coffee at Java, and Iris apologized for being such a lousy mother. She blamed most of her actions on "the hooch" and said she was using "positive thinking" to improve herself. She showed Gwen some flyers with Barbara's picture that she had made through the "direction of a higher power." Iris swore she was a different person and asked for a chance to show Gwen that she was trustworthy. She said she was staying at the Wagon Wheel Motel and would find Barbara if given the chance.

Gwen went back to Fairwinds with the news that Iris was on a mission to find Barbara. She said she felt a strange need to support her mom, but Will cautioned that if Iris showed any of her old behavior, they were done with her.

Upstairs in their bedroom, Paul and Emily hugged. Emily had the need to explain how awful Barbara had been to her years before when Emily was pregnant with Jennifer, the stillborn daughter she shared with Paul. Emily had just found out she was pregnant, and Barbara arrived to attempt to talk Emily into an abortion. Paul said his mother had been a train wreck back then, mostly because of how James Stenbeck had treated her. He hoped Emily could see past all that to the good in Barbara.

Henry and Katie ran frantically around Old Town while looking for Barbara. Finally Katie told him to get a grip, but Henry swore he could smell Barbara's perfume in the air. He felt that Barbara was close by, so he talked Katie into going to his lover's room in the Lakeview. He convinced a passing maid to open the door, and although no one was there, Henry smelled Barbara's scent again, and there were signs that someone was staying there.

In the storeroom, Barbara took a two-by-four board and bashed on the door. She gave up, but then she heard someone rattle the knob and saw it turn. Iris walked in and said, "How are you, Babs?"