The new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has been in business for one year, and it as a business is still floundering. They still have Lucky Strike as their big account, but all other clients account for a small proportion of total revenue. For every new innovative campaign they do, such as the recent television commercial for Glo-Coat, they have problems with another client. For example, Peggy, Pete and Joey are working on a campaign for Sugarberry Ham, and they feel they need to come up with a publicity stunt to replace the non-existent media budget, the stunt which they don't clear with Don and which goes slightly awry. And Don refuses to compromise his creative stance to kowtow to potential new clients. The company is housed in a small office that is not well furnished - it doesn't even have a conference table, the circle of chairs acting as the conference area they tell their clients is to foster dialogue. Don is being interviewed for Ad-Age Magazine, which the other partners trust ... Written by Huggo

The Christmas season is in full swing, but that only compounds the problems for Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Feeling the company still financially insolvent, Lane will only allow a meager office Christmas party, with no spouses or partners. Roger makes a unilateral decision to change that directive from Lane to keep their one major client, Lee Garner Jr. of Lucky Strike, happy. Roger wants the company to appear cheerful and busy to those in the outside world that matter. The company's fortune may change for the better when ex-Sterling Cooper fired employee Freddy Rumsen, now clean and sober for sixteen months, walks through their doors, he who brings with him a lucrative contract with Pond's cold cream. One of his two major stipulations is that he comes with the contract. Peggy, who has been Freddy's biggest supporter in the past, may regret what she wished for as she and Freddy butt heads over the concept for Pond's. Also to assist in improving the company's fortunes, Bertram ... Written by Huggo

Plans are being made for the New Year's break. Don, heading to Acapulco, makes a twenty-four hour stop in Los Angeles to visit with Anna, who's broken her leg which is in a cast. The two spend the day with Anna's grown niece, Stephanie. Alone with Stephanie at the end of the evening, Don tries to seduce her, but his seduction plans change when she gives him some sobering news. Don has to figure out what to do with the news before he leaves Los Angeles. Because of the news, Don changes his New Year's plans. Back in New York, Joan and Greg want to start a family, but have to find time when both are free. Lane denies her the two days she wants in January when Greg is off, after which she expects he will be headed to Vietnam at the completion of basic training. Lane's attempt to make it up to Joan which goes slightly awry and a mishap at home combined with the underlying stress of trying to find the time with Greg finally take their toll emotionally on Joan. And Lane was supposed to go ... Written by Huggo

With the firm now handling the Ponds cold cream account, Pete is given the news that they have to let go of Clearasil - an account only half the size - despite Pete's connection to the account through his father-in-law, Tom. Pete is directed to tell Tom the news by the start of the next working day. However, Pete's news to Tom is overshadowed by news Tom has for Pete, which makes Pete forget about his task, at least for the time being. Once the news of what Tom told Pete makes the rounds at the office, everyone seems happy for Pete, with perhaps the exception of Peggy, who finds the news somewhat bittersweet. With Ponds, Fay - oops, Faye - holds a focus group with the younger secretaries of the firm. Don, Freddy and Peggy, viewing the focus group behind a two-way mirror, find the focus group illuminating, but for Don having to do with an issue not associated with the product. This revelation during the focus group leads to a frank discussion between Allison and Don. Meanwhile, Pete ... Written by Huggo

The general scuttlebutt within the Madison Avenue advertising world is that Ted Chaough is the next Don Draper, and that Ted's firm, Cutler Gleason and Chaough (CGandC), is stealing all the accounts from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP), the latest being Clearasil. Although not quite the truth, the perception that CGandC is the up and coming ad agency may make life tougher for an already struggling SCDP. Pete has connections for what may be the next big account up for grabs, Honda Motorcycles, worth $3 million in potential billings. Don wants everyone dealing with the account at SCDP to brush up on their Japanese etiquette as the leg up for the firm in nabbing the account. Ted lets Don know that CGandC is also in the running for the lucrative business. Everyone in the know in the ad world seems to want the account, except for Roger, who has strong remembrances of his time in the last world war. When Roger makes a move that may jeopardize the account before they even get it, Don comes up ... Written by Huggo

The firm is on a high as Don has been nominated for a Clio Award for the Glo-Coat ad. The one person who has some issue specifically with Don is Peggy, who feels that Don has not provided any recognition for her significant contribution to that ad and who is not among those from the company invited to the awards ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. On top of that, Don is giving her deadline ultimatums for the Vicks account, the hold-ups which she feels are not her fault, but that of the new art director, Stan Rizzo, who Don seems to respect more than her. To make their working relationship function, Peggy takes Stan up on what she considers a bluff, which has mixed reactions. During this time, an inebriated Don also pitches a bad and stolen idea to their Life cereal clients, who love the idea. Peggy, at that meeting, knows its original source. That action by Don may be the last Peggy will tolerate from him in this already bad weekend for her. Don gets out of this predicament in a ... Written by Huggo

It's May 25, 1965, the date of two milestones. First, it's the much anticipated heavyweight boxing rematch between Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay. All of the guys from the office are planning on watching the fight at the Loews movie theater, making a night out of it with dinner and drinks beforehand, with Roger and Don having work plans with the Ponds clients before the match. And second, it's Peggy's twenty-sixth birthday. She receives an initially intriguing birthday present from Duck, the present which she quickly realizes is less substantial than at first glance. But it ends up not being the greatest birthday for her when she and Don butt heads over the latest campaign for Samsonite, this argument for Peggy an extension of her recent negative feelings toward Don. But working on the campaign, which makes Peggy miss her birthday dinner with Mark (the dinner which for Mark is more important than he initially lets on) and Don miss both his work function with Roger and the fight, leads ... Written by Huggo

Don has come to the realization that his life is falling apart, fueled in large part by his excessive alcohol consumption. To get his life back on track, he is swimming regularly - a difficult task at first - and writing a journal, the latter which may be the more difficult task as he admits he has never strung together more that 250 words at any given time. His problems are compounded by the fact that Gene's second birthday is coming up, Gene's official party to which he is not invited. He also knows in his heart that Gene considers Henry to be his father. Don also evaluates the state of his relationships, especially with Bethany. Betty is not coping much better with her life, the thought of Don which causes her unending grief. A chance social meeting with Don totally unravels Betty, unfortunate for Henry that it takes place at an important dinner with regard to Henry's political future. Betty's emotions take their toll on the Francises. Joan is also going through a rough time with ... Written by Huggo

Emotional issues are infiltrating life at the office. An incident with Sally causes Don some problems, both because of the issue itself and how it affects his professional and now budding personal relationship with Faye. Sally and Don's life in combination with this issue is not made any easier with Betty's take on it. Although hiding it, Joan is feeling vulnerable with news that Greg is being sent to Vietnam following his stint in basic training. Roger wants to be a support to Joan, and admits that his support is partly for his own lustful wants for Joan although he doesn't expect anything to happen with her. But an additional stressful situation which Roger and Joan face together may change what happens or doesn't happen between them. And Peggy is being wooed by Joyce's friend, the socially conscious Abe Drexler. Abe's attempts to get into Peggy's good graces go slightly awry, and may even get her fired if a gift he gives her, which was supposed to flatter her, is made public. But ... Written by Huggo

SCDP's fortune's are on the upswing and Don is buoyed by that fact. Harry is getting him tickets to a Beatles concert, to which he is taking an excited Sally. And SCDP are in final negotiations with North American Aviation, whose marketing budget has been substantially increased. However, the contract with North America Aviation has some unforeseen consequences, the results which unnerve Betty, concern Pete who does whatever he can to handle the situation within his means albeit with some reservations, but most importantly threaten Don's entire future. As Don prepares for his family's security if he is taken down, the reality of the situation begins truly to sink in. With others in the office, Lane receives an unexpected visit from his father. The purpose of the visit is to bring Lane home to deal with his marital issues. But Lane has a particular reason for wanting to stay permanently in New York, which he has to decide whether to tell his father. And Roger and Joan's sexual ... Written by Huggo

Despite Peggy's less than friendly last encounter with Abe, the two begin a relationship following a chance social outing with Joyce. Stan can smell Peggy's resulting sexual energy. Unaware of Abe, Stan tries to exploit what he sees as Peggy's want for sex. And Trudy has gone into labor. But as Peggy states, when something good happens, something bad always happens. The bad is the rumor of Lucky Strike abandoning SCDP, which comes into the firm through the back door i.e. not from Roger, the one and only person in the firm dealing with that account. But once the rumor spreads amongst the partners, Roger does confirm the rumor but does whatever he can to hide the fact that he's known about Lucky Strike leaving for some time. The loss of this account potentially could mean the end of SCDP, especially if this news makes current and potential clients feel uncertain about SCPD's future. The partners try to put on a brave face to the staff, who are asked to be more diligent than ever with ... Written by Huggo

Sally is continuing on with her therapy sessions with Dr. Edna, who believes Sally is progressing so much that the frequency of her sessions can be reduced. However, Sally is also having unofficial therapy sessions with Glen Bishop, about which Betty is unaware. Betty feels the need to speak to someone herself about life, but doesn't want it under the guise of therapy sessions. She will really need to speak to someone after she makes a discovery, which in turn may set Sally's therapy back. Meanwhile, life at SCDP is not getting any better following Lucky Strike's departure. Although Don has an off the record meeting with Heinz arranged by Faye, they have the same opinion as all other potential clients: business is a possibility in six months if SCDP is still in operation. Beyond Lane's need to deal with the operational aspects of the the business such as payroll, none of the partners has a concrete proposal to get them out of their predicament. And an idea from Peggy to Don is ... Written by Huggo

The staff at SCDP are taking their opportunities where ever they come. After Don's diatribe in the form of the advertisement in the New York Times against tobacco advertising, he and Pete have a meeting with the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society for their business. It's not so much the advertising contract of a non-profit organization that they want but those of the businesses for which the board members actually work. They ask Ken to use some social connections to leverage some of that potential. And based on a social conversation Peggy has with Joyce, Peggy pounces on an opportunity for another contract, but has to work fast to get it. Within all these goings-on, Don is taking some time away from the office to take the kids to California, where he has to deal with some aspects of Anna's estate. But Betty, acting on an emotional impulse in the process of moving to a new house, thwarts Don's plans, for which he has to make some quick last minute adjustments to those ... Written by Huggo