Trama

When Reese's girlfriend Beth cheats on him with Malcolm, he runs away to join the army; Meanwhile, Hal is arrested for supposedly hatching out an entire criminal scheme at his job.

When Reese visits Beth at her house, he finds out that she's cheating on him with Malcolm. Distraught, he runs away and joins the Army with the other broken hearted males. Meanwhile, Hal is arrested by the FBI, for refusing to testify against his former co-worker for various dishonest acts against the company he works for. Lois is on the brink of insanity and she loses her job as a result. She gives into her insanity and takes a cold shower with her clothes on. This forces Francis and Piama to be the disciplinarians and the breadwinners of their family. Malcolm is ridden with guilt for what happened and tries to find Reese by himself. Then a unidentified officer ridden with cancer, decides to help clear Hal's name.—Anonymous

In the pre-credit sequence, Hal and Lois wonder if babies dream, while Jamie dreams about everyone with breasts.

Hal and Lois are going through their bills when Hal mentions that things are getting worse at the office. Caught up in their worries, they hardly notice Dewey practicing on his keyboard, or Reese smooching with his girlfriend Beth. Dewey announces that he is entering the regional auditions of a youth music festival the next day, but no one pays any attention to him.

The next morning, Hal finds two FBI agents in his car. They want him to testify against his boss, but he doesn't know anything. If that is the case, they claim, he might as well make up some stuff to help them. That night, Reese crawls through Beth's bedroom window and proclaims his love. Beth, however, wants to break up with him. Just as he is about to leave, Reese notices a foot sticking out from under Beth's bed. It's Malcolm, who's grown to like Beth as well. Upset, he wishes both Beth and Malcolm luck on their relationship and leaves.

Hal talks to Lois about the FBI offer. Lois thinks it's outrageous that the FBI should ask Hal to do something illegal, and she urges her husband not to lie. Dewey announces that he's passed the auditions. Malcolm suffers from guilt after the incident in Beth's bedroom and he has some bad dreams about it. Dewey wakes him up with some startling news: Reese has run away. Before Dewey and Malcolm can inform their parents about Reese's disappearance, the FBI raid the house and arrest Hal.

Meanwhile, Reese has gone to an army recruitment office and joined up. There is some doubt about his age, but he can prove that he is eighteen by showing his (fake) driver's license. The army welcomes 'Private Jetson'.

Released from jail and facing indictment for fraud, Hal is fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet. He cannot leave the house. The public defender assigned to Hal's case does not seem to be very competent or interested in the case, making Lois even more worried.

At the army camp Reese gets an army haircut, which slightly surprises him. When the new recruits line up on the parade ground, Reese shows up in a white t-shirt. He explains to his instructor that he has traded some of his equipment for a gameboy and extra cartridges. The instructor punishes him by making do push-ups in the mud.

At home, an exhausted Lois barely realizes what's going on around the house. Francis and Piama have come over to help. Dewey announces that he's leaving by plane for the youth music festival. Again, no one pays any attention as Francis' anger and blame is on Malcolm for stealing Beth away from Reese and causing him to run away.

Hal struggles with the limitations brought on by the ankle bracelet. Picking up the newspaper from the porch is a chore. When Jamie wanders off onto the lawn, Hal has to get him back by luring the child into the laundry basket, attached to a rope, pulling him in. An anonymous man calls the house and tells Hal that he can prove Hal's innocence. They agree to meet at a secret place, which they don't mention on the phone. Malcolm builds a portable transmitter and puts it in a backpack, so Hal can leave the house.

At the army camp, Reese has turned into a model soldier. His explanation is simple: if you stop thinking, everything gets easier. On the other hand, things go worse for Lois. Because she gave a customer twenty thousand dollars change instead of twenty dollars, she got fired. Bad news, such as the repossession of the fridge, doesn't seem to faze her. She just walks fully dressed into the shower and turns on the water.

Hal goes to the public library to meet his secret ally. Because backpacks are not allowed, he leaves his in the bushes near the entrance. Malcolm has told him he can move thirty steps away from the bag. Carefully counting his steps, Hal enters the library. A stranger tells him that he has the necessary information to prove Hal's innocence. He was the one responsible to bringing him down and is willing to watch him crumble. Then he reveals that he's dying and is willing rat out the people he helped. He assures Hal that he will bring the evidence forward at the court hearing and warns him not to talk about it. Because should he do so, the FBI will fabricate new evidence against him and both of them would go down.

When Hal leaves the library, he sees a policeman staring at the bag. Hal denies being the owner of the bag, and so the policeman takes a look inside. The electronics make the officer believe that it's a bomb, and he orders Hal to get away quickly. But Hal comes up with an unexpected reply: he is from the bomb squad and he will disarm the device.

In the final shot of the episode, we see Hal bent over the bag, surrounded by police officers and patrol cars.