Benson and Kraus are taken hostage during a convenience store stickup, and it takes all of Benson's diplomacy to keep her from goading the gunmen into shooting them.
After recovering from flu symptoms, Benson collapses while talking to Kraus and is hospitalized for tests. Clayton starts looking to replace him as Head of Household Staff. A visitor hold the key to what his ailment is.
Benson and Kraus find a secret compartment in the mansion's fireplace hearth. Inside is a letter written by a past governor telling about a stash of gold hidden in the mansion and everyone wants it for themselves.
The Governor is having a $100 per plate dinner to raise money for a hospital in a third world country. Clayton puts out a memo telling the entire staff to attend in costume. Among the guests is the Ambassador of the country who is bringing The Golden Monkey which is made of solid gold and some revolutionaries wanting to steal the monkey.
The Governor has a female escort for a special reception and Katie is afraid that it means that he will be getting married. The Guest of Honor for the reception owns an air conditioning company and comments on how bad the mansion's air conditioning system is. He's yet to find out who manufactured it.
Kraus' aunt dies and she is given her aunt's Bavarian inn. The only catch is that in order to inherit it, she must live in it meaning she has to move to Bavaria or let it go to her cousin. Kraus decides that since she really considers the United States her country, she wants to become a US citizen, but she fails the citizenship test.
While on a Caribbean vacation, Benson meets a woman who wants to stay with him. To his dismay, she follows him back home and arrives at the mansion where she refuses to leave him.
On the way to a Solar Energy Conference in Albuquerque, the pilot of the plane flying Benson, Marcie, Clayton and the Governor becomes ill and it is up to the Governor and Benson to fly the plane.
Benson moves into an apartment which is intended to give him a place to live on weekends so that he can get away from the mansion. As he is trying to renew and old friendship with a pretty girl, he finds that getting away from the Staff isn't as easy as he would like.
Benson becomes the 'Big Buddy' to a nine year old boy who is hard to handle. When the boy and Katie get caught shoplifting, Benson tries to figure out why the boy is the way he is.
Marcy's boyfriend Dan, is the producer of the Governor's fireside chat. Just when she believes he is going to propose, he breaks up with her and wants them to reevaluate their relationship.
It's Marcy's wedding. And when her father is unable to attend, Marcy wants Benson to walk her down the aisle. But her mother prefers someone from the family.
Kraus is in a state: her childhood rival, whose boasting she has endured for years, is on her way to America, expecting to find the cook married to the governor.
A representative from an airline which opposes a noise abatement bill attempts to bribe Clayton. When Clayton intends to testify against the airline, he begins to receive threats and break-ins.
A neighborhood boy wanders onto the governor's property, and breaks his arm when he falls out of a tree. As the boy is missing a strong role-model in his life, Benson considers becoming a father figure to the boy.
Katie's school assignment is to write a paper about her family. In addition to her father, she includes Benson, Kraus, and the others whom she considers part of her family.
On his way to a Navy reunion, the Governor, along with Benson and Clayton, stop off at a bordello to visit a sick friend. When a fire breaks out across the street, they are afraid to be seen by the crowd when they exit the bordello.
