At the bike shop, Jack finds himself smack dab in the middle of a lover's quarrel as Alison grouses at Jamal about his talk with her grandmother. Frank tries to determine who's been sending him messages via "Nellie". Arianna is annoyed to learn that Eve is back in Port Charles to stay. Though Jamal urges her to give Amanda a chance, Alison reminds him that her granny is a slippery character who will stop at nothing to pry them apart. Arianna angrily takes her husband to task for not letting her know how the INS agent spotted him with Eve in the basement apartment. Later, out of Ian's earshot, Arianna demands that Eve reveal her true agenda. Karen suggests to Frank that someone with a major crush has been sending him those cryptic e-mails. Jack advises Alison and Jamal not to let their petty squabbles ruin a fabulous relationship. Fed up with Eve's excuses, Arianna screeches at her rival to leave her and Ian alone from now on. Alison smells a familiar rat after a city building inspector threatens to close down Jamal's shop for code violations. Eve warns Ian that his wife has fallen in love with him.

With just 48 hours to fix the building code violations, Alison, Jack and Jamal scramble to get the bike shop up to speed. Though Ian scoffs at her concerns, Eve insists that Arianna's main fear is not deportation by the INS but losing the man she loves to another woman. Though Alison decides to expose Amanda's misdeeds by taking a certain audio tape to the media, Jamal firmly vetoes her idea. Kevin explains to Lucy why he missed their dinner date and how his hand was cut by the irate wife of a patient. Later, Lucy applauds her lover's choice when Kevin reveals how he's agreed to head up a kind of "psychiatric SWAT team" for the police department. Ian told Eve he's working on a way to give his wife a new identity to keep her safe in some town far from Port Charles. Meanwhile, a heartbroken Arianna weeps alone on the docks. Jack is forced to referee another spat between Alison and Jamal. Gaby cautions Ian that Arianna has developed some genuine feelings for him which go way beyond play-acting for the Immigration service. Approached by a stranger, Arianna becomes completely hysterical and begins flailing her arms at the startled man.

Eve heads to the lighthouse to seek help from her estranged husband and is peeved when a half-dressed Lucy answers the door. Ian rushes to the hospital upon learning that his wife has been admitted. Explaining how Arianna attacked a fisherman on the docks, Kevin icily suggests to Ian that his track record with women seems to be getting even worse. Grateful for the way Jack played Cupid for herself and Jamal, Alison urges Livvie to give her former boyfriend a second chance. At the Recovery Room, Chris taunts a fuming Frank about his renewed interest in his brother's old flame. Later, as Chris starts to coach her for her med school interview, Livvie finds herself daydreaming about Jack instead of listening to her self-appointed mentor. Alison begins to lose hope that Jamal will ever be able to open the bike shop. Chris intercepts a call from Karen and deliberately neglects to let Frank know about her plans to come home early. Lucy offers a sympathetic shoulder to a tearful Eve. Following an aborted attempt to counsel a traumatized Arianna, Kevin warns Ian that his wife is in serious trouble.

Karen returns home from Memphis and told Eve she's especially eager to hook up with Frank. Meanwhile, Frank continues to receive peculiar messages via "Nellie". Arianna shakily explains to Ian how devastating an effect the rape had on her entire life. Eve confides to Karen her fear that Ian's wife will never release her hold on him. After Ian gently encourages her to open up, a sobbing Arianna finally reveals how one of her brother's friends brutalized her. Later, as Ian's kind and soothing words give Arianna comfort, her love for him intensifies. Though deeply troubled by the chief's parting words, Eve clings to a desperate hope that she and Ian will find a way to overcome all obstacles to their love. Karen hurries to the Scanlons' garage and is disappointed to find Nellie all alone.

Unaware that Karen has returned ahead of schedule, Frank brought his date back to the garage to meet "Nellie". With a midnight deadline looming, Jack, Jamal and Alison work feverishly to whittle down the long list of code violations. As Livvie arrives to lend a hand, Alison sprains her ankle and reluctantly agrees to let Jamal take her to the ER. Ian phones Eve at the hospital to assure her how much he yearns to be with her. Entering the garage alone, Frank smothers Karen with kisses. Afterwards, he explains how he asked one of his waitresses out but couldn't follow through because he realized that Karen was the only woman he wanted. Ian told Eve how traumatized his wife became after she disclosed details of the rape. A computer specialist arrives to take a look at "Nellie" and archly informs Frank that it's impossible for him to be receiving e-mail messages on such an old machine. When Arianna gushes about how he is the first man whose touch she craves, Ian gently reminds his wife that their union is one of convenience alone.