The Pritchett clan gather for Father's Day after the three families return from separate adventures: Claire, Phil and the kids in New York; Mitch, Cam and Lily in the Midwest; and Jay, Gloria and Joe in Mexico.
A new family moves in across the street from the Pritchetts and Jay wants to make a good impression. Meanwhile, Manny hopes his deeds will catch the attention of a pretty teenage radical; the Dunphys try to look on the bright side of Alex's bout with mono; and Mitch and Cam are shocked to overhear Lily disrespect a new friend.
Luke and Manny go head-to-head in a race to be class president, but the campaign might be more of a battle between their parents. Meanwhile, Phil introduces Haley to a marketing genius to help with her promotion business; and Cam goes to extremes to keep his best football player from leaving the school.
Phil can't cover up his excitement when he's invited to appear in a real-estate news segment for the local news. The day gets even better after meeting his "weatherman" hero, Rainer Shine. Phil made one little mistake; he introduced him to Hayley. Over at the Pritchett house, Jay decides to infuse a little grit into Manny's video interview for his college application. In the Tucker-Pritchett home, Lily is over their new houseguest and decides to take matters into her own hands.
Luke hosts a Halloween party that quickly turns into a nightmare, so the Dunphys come up with a plan to make it a success and rescue his reputation. Meanwhile, Cam confronts his holiday nemesis, but Mitch and Lily try to keep him from going overboard; and Jay plots revenge on an old adversary when he finds out where Manny is going to a party.
Jay's only sanctuary and favorite place in the world begins to lose its charm when Phil starts to think about becoming a member; Claire misjudges her influence over Alex's choices; Hayley wants to impress Alex with her life choices.
Cameron spares no expense for his Thanksgiving jamboree; Hayley tells Phil she'd rather spend the holiday with her new boyfriend; Jay works to keep his blood pressure down; Alex and Dwight get closer.
Hayley's plan for a fun-filled girl's day with Rainer Shine's teen daughter may be a little more angst-filled than expected. Luke finds himself in a compromising position with a widow at the club and unwittingly helps Jay with his petition. Gloria, Phil and Cam have formed a secret alliance to ensure their respective 'mistakes' are concealed from their spouses.
A fancy holiday gala at school finds Manny and Luke trying to avoid a disastrous outcome thanks to a texting mistake. Eager to pitch in, Claire, Gloria, Mitchell and Cameron volunteer to help at the dance and get involved in the night's shenanigans, including Claire and Gloria trying to set up a single mom with the principal, while Mitchell takes an interest in the school bully.
Trying to recover from his Thanksgiving debacle, Cam decides to treat the family to a New Year's Day feast. After realizing that Cam's recent attempt is also a complete fail and in order to salvage their meal, Mitch uses a "concierge gift card" that he received as a Christmas gift. Cam soon discovers that the concierge who is on his way to save the day is none other than his ex-boyfriend, Keifth (Kelsey Grammar), a former circus ringmaster who left him without saying goodbye. Meanwhile, Phil's dad, Frank (Fred Willard) arrives with his new girlfriend, who happens to be Phil's childhood babysitter, which sets him on a confusing tailspin. Finally, Gloria and Jay have to decide who should take care of little Joe if something should ever happen to them.
Cam is upset about a rude parent that cost him a precious moment during Lily's dance recital; during a visit to Alex's coffee shop with Hayley, Cam believes he has spotted the anonymous parent and goes to extreme lengths to verify.
Fearful that the romance between him and Claire is fizzling, Phil calls upon his alter ego, Clive Bixby, get Valentines day back on track. Meanwhile, much to Gloria's chagrin, Jay shows a bit of child favoritism when he and Gloria must deal with Joe's inappropriate Valentine gift-giving and Manny's dating indecisiveness. When Cam and Mitch try to empower Lily, Haley and Sal to stand up to the men in their lives, things don't turn out as planned and go overboard. Finally, Alex discovers she has a secret admirer who may be a little too involved with family.
Phil eyes a property he's always had a desire to develop and wants Jay to be a coinvestor. Meanwhile, Claire's fondness for a TV chef leads to a new love of cooking Sunday dinners; Mitch and Cam try to teach Lily the value of hard work; and Jay feels left out when Gloria hires a coach for Joe who doubles as a handyman.
Despite their lofty hopes, Phil and Jay's property investment might turn out to be a bust, forcing Phil to rethink his original dream. Meanwhile, Cam lands in the hospital due to a head injury and refuses to have an MRI thanks to a traumatic incident with a well when he was a child. Determined to finally impress Claire and keep her from re-gifting her birthday present, Gloria surprises her with a day of luxury at the office. However, after Claire had to implement some rather harsh budget cuts at work, a massage at her desk may not be sending the right message.
Cam is enraged when he receives an online video showing someone has been desecrating his beloved Fizbo costume, which sets him on a quest to restore Fizbo's good name. Phil is in for quite the surprise when he finally meets his new soon-to-be step-brother at Frank's bachelor party. Manny's newest play hits a little too close to home for Gloria, Claire, and Haley when he enlists them to do a read through before he submits it to a young playwright festival.
After choking at last year's charity basketball game, Phil has been training all year to redeem himself. However, when NBA stars Charles Barkley and DeAndre Jordan attend the game and start making bets, Phil tries to not buckle under the pressure. Meanwhile, Gloria has to step-up at Manny's school when her nemesis, Donna Duncan, tries to shame her for her lack of support at the school. Finally, Claire does whatever it takes to keep a work mistake secret from Jay, while Jay's concerned that Joe doesn't have a healthy fear of him at all.
The culturally diverse members of an expanded family spend their days attempting to keep order in their corner of California, as complications, both personal and professional, provide them with plenty of lessons that will allow them to grow.
Mitch and Cam have five minutes to catch a new flight while fighting the effects of sleeping pills they took prematurely. Then at Rainer's birthday dinner, Haley and Rainer are forced to reevaluate their entire relationship in the five minutes before the birthday cake arrives. Phil and Claire pay a surprise visit to Alex and are given a five-minute surprise introduction to her new boyfriend. With only five minutes to catch a movie, Manny has to find the perfect parking space and endure Jay and Gloria's backseat argument.
Frank Dunphy's wedding has a Roaring '20s theme, so Phil gets his clan to show up in costume, but Claire and the kids realize it's time for an intervention with Phil when they're the only ones who dressed up. Jay comes to regret mastering the art of saying "no". Cam finally gets the courage to stand up to his sister Pam.
Gloria, Claire, Haley, Alex, Lily, Luke and Manny are equally committed to showing their support for gender equality and the women's movement in very different ways. Meanwhile, Jay and Phil are at odds on how their parking lot attendant, Joan, should be running their lot, and jealousy ensues when Pam prefers Mitchell's help over Cam's with her baby.
Mitch and Jay end up at the same resort when they separately seek out a retreat from the family; Phil and Claire struggle to enjoy empty-nester life; not knowing what to do with himself while Mitch is away, Cam drops in on Gloria.
When Manny's father arrives for his graduation and takes him out on a wild night to celebrate, Jay steps in to restore matters; the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker crew gets emotional as they prepare for Luke and Manny's big day.