- Mary protects a 10-year-old witness from being returned to his father, but as the story unfolds learns new information about the boy she's protecting.
- After witnessing the murder of his mother and because of his knowledge of his father's drug business, young eight-year-old Lonny, soon to be Leo, must be placed into witness protection. Because of his age, the only option for the lad is to be placed with another family, the Billups, who are already in the program. A year and a half later, the Billups make it official and legally adopt 'Leo', only to discover that Leo's father is out of prison and wants his son back. Knowing that this is must be a ploy to bring Leo out of hiding and into harm's way, Mary does everything in her power to stop it. Jinx, Mary's mother, tries her hand at door-to-door cosmetic sales.—Lynne Boris Johnston
- A young boy plays with toys in the pool. He hears a loud crash from inside his big house. He walks and hears raised voices, a woman yelling at a man. Two men are threatening her, while another looks on. The boy tells the men to leave his mom alone. Instead, a shot rings out and she falls, dead.
Lonny McCroy enters the program as Leo Billups.
At WITSEC, Stan introduces Marshall and Mary and you, the home viewer, to the case. He explains that 10-year-old Lonny saw his mom killed and the feds think he has inside knowledge of his dad's drug business. He doesn't have to testify against his dad, though, because dad took a plea. Stan tells Mary the kid needs an advocate, and she is it.
Trying to find him a home, she meets with a couple already in the program. She describes him as sweet, nearly choking on the word. The dad thinks it's not fair to dump this on them, and she agrees. She goes into the room next door where Lonny/Leo is watching the couple. Oh crap, he says, are they praying? What kind of potato head yokels have you hooked me up with? To impress the kid, Mary tells him Mr. Potato Head Yokel, Carter, bilked the government out of $3 billion. The couple says yes. Leo walks in and informs them, precious TV-kid style, that he ain't going to church and he doesn't have a bedtime.
Cut to Mary in bed, her mom and a gentlemen friend romping in the next room.
Sign your life isn't going well: When mom is getting more action than you.
The next morning Mary wakes up to a mess in her house. There's a bra in the sink and someone drank all the coffee. Her mom and sister are relaxing, eating breakfast by the pool.
She reads them the riot act, telling Brandi to contribute to rent and her mom to get a job.
She drives with Marshall to visit Leo. She congratulates him on officially being a yokel. Leo plays with his adoptive sister. The mom tells Mary how he dotes on her.
Mary arrives home to a clean house and tuna casserole with Velveeta and potato chip crust. Her mom tells her she got a job, selling Mary Kay-style cosmetics. Mary is excited. Until mom tells her she needs $2,500 to get started.
The next day, Mary puts getting the money on her to-do list. She arrives to work to find Arlo from the Department of Justice waiting to talk about Leo. He tells her that Leo's dad, Vernon, got an early release from prison and is suing for custody. She thinks he's only suing to keep the kid from testifying against his former drug dealing partners. She doesn't want Leo to have to testify. But she'll have to explain why granting custody to the dad wouldn't be a good idea. She'll be testifying under a government alias.
Leo's adoptive parents meet her at the airport and aren't thrilled. Mrs. Yokel makes Mary promise she'll bring him back.
They arrive in Indiana, to the safe house where they'll be staying. There's nothing for the kid to do. Leo joins the feds' card game.
Back in Albuquerque, Jinx readies for her day of selling make-up. Brandi tries to help her practice, but they giggle instead. We learn that Mary's dad used to be a salesman, until he became a criminal and ran out on the family.
At the safehouse, Leo has cleaned out the dudes playing cards. They go to bed, Mary sharing a room with Leo. He wakes up crying in the night. He's worried his dad won't love him anymore. She reassures him.
The next day, the caravan of protection arrives at the courthouse.
They run into Lonny's dad, Vernon, in the lobby. Marshall intervenes.
Jinx totes her pink suitcase through a suburban subdivision, practices her spiel and squealing.
The court session begins. The judge summarizes the case, that Vernon believes they took his son without authority. Arlo makes the case that Vernon is a known drug dealer. The judge asks if he's been convicted of anything related to that. No. The judge doesn't appreciate that the adoptive family isn't there and Mary, as Sara White, won't make them available.
Back home, Brandi talks to her boyfriend on the phone. She wants to know when she can come home. He tells her it's taking him a while to put the deal together (for the suitcase full of coke she's hiding). Jinx makes her first make-up sale and wants to quit for the day at 10:30. Even coke-hiding Brandi seems to think that's pretty irresponsible.
In court, the judge lectures Mary for using the boy to build a criminal case. She's really getting going when there is a loud boom. She races for Lonny, but Marshall is leading him out according to the evacuation plan. Just as the get to the exit, a gun sight focuses on Lonny. Mary yanks him back into the building, explaining that the evacuation plans are public info as part of the Homeland Security Act. They get Lonny safely into the SUV and see the smoldering remains of a car that caused the loud boom.
It was a homemade bomb, the same kind as one used by the drug dealers earlier to kill a witness. They were trying to flush Leo out. Mary wants to take Leo/Lonny home, but the judge has demanded he appear in the court the next morning.
Brandi drops Jinx off at another house. It's the guy she spent the night with. He greets her holding his dog.
In the safehouse, Mary and Leo bond more. She shows him her guns. He says his dad had one like hers. She asks if he ever fired it. He says no.
A few moments later, Leo says he lied. He did shoot a gun once. The day his mom died. He says he ran inside to get his dad's gun that day. He says he shot when the dealers did. I guess I missed because my mom got shot anyway, he says. Mary figures out what happened and tells him it's probably best not to tell anyone that.
She goes to visit Lonny's dad. She lays her cards on the table, saying she was surprised to find that Lonny shot his mom and Vernon was covering for him. Vernon is worried that Lonny knows what really happened, but she says he doesn't. So aside from poising America's youth with drugs, you're not quite the monster I thought you were, she tells him. She tries the you-care-about-him approach, telling him the life Lonny has now is good. Vernon says he belongs with his son. He says he's not going to let anyone take him from him. Mary tells him she's going to take Lonny from him. She hands him an envelope and tells him the dealers set the car bomb that day and his lawyer knew about it. Vernon thumbs through the pictures of Lonny with his new baby sister, thinking.
Mary goes back to the safehouse and tells Marshall she doesn't think she can turn Lonny over. Marshall says he'll back her up. The next day in court, Mary prepares Lonny to testify.
Jinx arises from some afternoon delight to find that her lover's dog has destroyed her make-up samples. When she says he'll have to pay for it, he says he loves her, but not $2,500 worth.
In Indiana, the judge renders her decision. She says the government hasn't given enough evidence to keep Lonny. She says that Vernon gets him. He responds by having a change of heart and renouncing his rights, agreeing Lonny can stay Leo with his new parents. His drug dealer-paid lawyer isn't happy. I'd say you'd live to regret this, but that's not likely. Vernon asks if he can say good-bye. Mary says no.
They fly home. Vernon comes with them. He's joined the program and will testify against his former partners. The Yokels (Billups) will retain custody, but Vernon gets to visit.
Mary goes home to her family, warm and fuzzy.
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