On Christmas Eve, 2000, funeral-director Nathaniel Samuel Fisher is involved in a hearse-accident with a bus and is killed. Ruth Fisher has a hard time coping, so can't bring herself to identify her husband's body at the morgue. David, the secretly gay younger son who remained at home to help with the family business, feels nothing but dismay at the prospect of now continuing his hated job for good, and focuses on keeping everything in order for the newest funeral. Claire Fisher gets the news just after smoking crystal at a party, and is forced to hide it. Nate Fisher returns home just in time to learn of the death after making out with fellow plane passenger Brenda Chenowith in an airport supply closet, and is forced to keep Claire's secret, console Ruth when she confesses she'd been cheating on Nathaniel, and take abuse from David for conversing with embalmer Federico Diaz, not helping him or forcing the others to swallow their grief, and insisting that David unleash his own. Then, ... Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

Chandler James Swanson dives too sharply into his pool and drowns...and leaves his family not with the multi-million-dollar pyramid scheme business they thought he had, but a mountain of debt. Nathaniel's will gives Ruth all his money, Claire an unwanted trust fund, and David and Nate the funeral business. Nate tries to give it to David or Ruth, but neither will take it, so he's glad to get Matthew Gilardi's offer to join Kroehner, but first has to convince David. With their client having too little money to even buy the $9000 casket already ordered and David and Rico unavailable, Nate decides to help her out by temporarily using the coffin at Swanson's funeral, then cheaply cremating him and selling the casket to another client...before learning he can neither reuse nor resell it legally. Meanwhile, David's ex-fiancée Jennifer Mason comes with belated sympathy for his father, and says Nathaniel hinted that he realized David was gay. Ruth goes hiking with her boyfriend Hiram again, ... Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

While cleaning a dough-mixer from the interior, Thomas Alfredo Ramono gets caught in his aide accidentally activating it. Nate agrees to sell to Kroehner's, with Ruth's support (and David's opposition overruled), but changes his mind when he hears another's view of Gilardi so is forced to reconsider if this easy choice is the best one. Gabe reveals that he and Claire slept together, resulting in mockery from half the school, so she decides to get revenge on him in a disturbing, sick move. Ruth's friend Amelia makes it over to offer sympathy and eventually succeeds in raising her spirit by gambling at the racetrack...but Nate and David sink it again after it already falls when her luck reverses. Just as Claire returns with more bad news for the family, an apparently good piece of news comes up: the cheap crematorium Gilardi planned to open in the house across the road burns down...but the timing, between Claire's recent suspicious actions, Nate's brutal rejection of Gilardi, and his ... Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

The police are investigating the fire across the street and it's clear that the police suspect a member of the family. Claire is their first choice. Nate and David find themselves caught in the middle between a family and a gang leader when 'Paco' Bolin is killed by a rival gang. The family want to bury their son but his gang leader, 'Powerful', wants it done his way. The business is in dire need of the money so they get Rico to try and settle any disagreement. David and Keith are called fags in a parking lot and Keith can't comprehend David's passive reaction to the slur. Nate invites Brenda over for dinner and they are caught by his mother in a compromising situation. Written by garykmcd

Nate finally gets to meet some of Brenda's family. he's invited to dinner but gets there to find that he is the only guest. He learns a lot about Brenda and gains some insight into her history and background. He also gets to meet her brother Billy who has moved in with her for a while. Dave is pleased when his Minister asks him to become a Deacon at the church, a post his father occupied prior to his death. His refusal to reveal that he is gay leads to a break-up with Keith however. Ruth is worried about Claire and attends a counseling session at school with Claire. She would like the two of them to be closer, as was the case when Claire was younger. She decides to visit a relative to show Claire what a close mother-daughter relationship can be like. At the funeral home, Rico is faced with a unique problem when Jean Louise MacArthur aka porn star Viveca St. John is brought in after being electrocuted in her bath tub. The memorial service is anything but ordinary. Written by garykmcd

Mildred Effinger Hattie Jones passes away in her sleep, leaving behind her gruff, crusty husband of 56 years who forcibly stays at the Fishers' even before the brothers can see him, and stubbornly insists they can't embalm his wife despite a 2-day wait on the service. Claire falls for Billy before learning of his odd nature, and gets some interesting news about Brenda. Ruth introduces David to Hiram, which naturally doesn't go well, and is pursued by the family florist, Nikolai. David is forced to admit to Tracy Montrose Blair his engagement is actually over without giving anything away in front of Ruth, and must forcibly reject her later. Nate looks through old business records and discovers Nathaniel respected his decision to leave, and took pay for certain funerals in odd ways - like purchasing drugs, or renting an apartment for free. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

Gulf War First-class Private Victor Wayne Kovich finally passes away after years of suffering lung disease, and Nate must persuade Daivd and the man's angry brother that he should receive a military-honoring burial as he wished. Claire prepares for the PSAT test she doesn't care about and wonders how much better her life will turn out compared to others'. Ruth takes a job at Nikolai's shop and invites Hiram to join them for a meal (prepared by him). Rico, angry that Nate plans to take a weekend trip with Brenda to the desert, professes the Fishers' lack of appreciation to him just before getting a call from Gilardi. As for Nate's plans, just as they're accepted grudgingly by Rico and David, a turn of events might throw them. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

Celebrating her divorce with wine and a limo ride, Chloe Margaret Bryant [formerly Yorkin] runs into a cherry-picker while hanging out of the sunroof. Rico, working at Kroehner's for extra money, earns fame for embalming her. Failing to realize he's been lying to them, or taking their supplies, Nate decides to hold square-dancing lessons to raise money in a slow time, and the instructor has an interesting reaction to David. Claire's outreach trip turns out to be a disappointment. Ruth is torn between Hiram and a jealous Nikolai. Nate has to deal with one of Brenda's old friends visiting, Just as business begins to rise again, Rico is convinced by his wife to leave Fisher and Sons for Kroehner's superior offer. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

While babysitting, Gabe kicks his little brother out of the room so he and Andy can get high, but Anthony Cristopher Finelli ends up playing with a gun and it goes off. Claire tries to support Gabe since no one else bothers trying, and Nate has to deal with his abusive stepfather when he arrives at the funeral. David goes with Kurt to a disco where he gets some ecstasy, and later hides it in the aspirin. Unfortunately, this appears to be a weekend where the family has a case of headaches, so he has to inconspicuously question Claire if anything unusual happened after she treated hers, and never suspects that Ruth took some on her camping trip with Hiram. Brenda gets Nate to act as a potential customer for some local funeral homes so he can get into the feel of his job. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

At breakfast, egomaniacal Jonathan Arthur Hanley receives a blow on the head with a frying-pan when his wife finally has enough of his mouth. Rico's replacement David and Nate find is difficult to reason with and informs Ruth she's convinced David is gay. Nate confronts Billy after he displays a degrading picture of him at an art gallery, and Brenda too grows disgusted with him when his parents reveal what he actually did instead of attempting suicide years before...but not enough to believe he should be institutionalized as they do. Ruth shows her feelings about Nikolai, and a rival shows her feelings about her. David meets Keith at a food distribution and is disappointed to learn his feelings for him aren't mutual. Claire is concerned with Gabe's continued possible depression without any support from his family, especially when she picks up on an underlying message in his words to her. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

3-week-old Dillon Michael Cooper suffers SIDS - an extremely uncomfortable charge for the Fishers as far as comforting the family but even more so for Rico, since his wife is currently pregnant for a second time. After Gabe's suicide attempt fails, Claire lies to Ruth that his drug overdose was an accident and points out that she, not his uncaring family, should help. David, Nate, and Brenda go to Vegas for a funeral directors' meeting where Nate informs Gilardi he knows what the arsonist's motive was, David meets Keith under unpleasant circumstances just after being caught with a male prostitute, and Nate and Brenda have an equally unpleasant encounter with Billy though have different opinions on how best to deal with it. To avoid all her floral arrangements looking like those in funerals, In between worrying about whether David really is gay and what it means for their relationship, Ruth takes a class on arranging which also instructs how to use instinct. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

A pair of young gay men is attacked, resulting in Marc Foster, Jr's death. With citizens arguing over the morality or immorality of the situation, David feels extreme discomfort on his being gay, making it even more daunting when he is encouraged to confess it to Ruth. So does Keith, instructed to deal with any troublemakers who attend the funeral. Nate tries to convince Brenda that Billy should receive treatment as their parents suggested after he attacks him, but Brenda doesn't get it until it happens to her. Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net

Matthew Gilardi discusses the difficulties of convincing the Fishers to sell to Kroehner's with his superior Mitzi Dalton Huntley while golfing, and one of the balls hits Tracy Montrose Blair's aunt Lillian Grace Montrose. Tracy is her usual difficult self while refusing to sign the Fishers' service contract, changing her mind completely about what kind of service to have, and being finicky over the only coffin available of the chosen kind, but shows a different side of herself when revealing why she's so devoted to keeping this funeral perfect. Claire is unaware that Gabe robs a convenience store, but still fears for him when she dreams that her father predicts his life won't last much longer. Father Jack is reprimanded for presiding over a lesbian marriage, and when the deacons get to an argument over this David is forced to voice his opinion as a tie-breaking vote, so his secret is revealed and he is dismissed quietly in order to keep Fr. Jack there. Ruth and Hiram decide their ... Written by brainybrailler@comcast.net