Laura Carson

Meet Meredith Grey, a woman trying to lead a real life while doing a job that makes having a real life impossible. Meredith is a first year surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, the toughest surgical residency program west of Harvard. She and her fellow first-year interns were students yesterday; today they're doctors in a world where on the job training can be a matter of life and death. Such is the world of "Grey's Anatomy," ABC's midseason medical drama about young people struggling to become doctors and doctors struggling to remain human. It's a world filled with intensity, humor, sex and pain, in which the interns discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white -- real life only comes in shades of grey.

After Jose and Kitty Menendez (Carlos Gomez and Lolita Davidovich) are found murdered in their upscale Beverly Hills home, their eldest son, Lyle (Miles Gaston Villanueva), maintains a stoic appearance while his younger brother, Erik (Gus Helper), struggles to deal with overwhelming grief. As detectives Les Zoeller (Sam Jaeger) and Tom Linehan (Cliff Chamberlain) search for the killers, evidence begins to suggest that Lyle and Erik may be the prime suspects. Meanwhile, a tenacious and energetic defense attorney, Leslie Abramson (Edie Falco), takes an interest in the case.

Denny once again goes head-to-head with his non-son, Donny, when he shows up in his new role as a Lawyers Without Borders representative. But Alan finds it difficult to support Denny's defense when Denny makes light of the case. Meanwhile, Marlene Stanger, known as "The Squid", is hired at the firm, and immediately attracts Alan and repels Denise.

Christine's controlling nature causes her to go too far and jeopardize one of Richard's construction jobs. When she learns that Richard has been hired to remodel Lindsay's bathroom, Christine can't help intervening to make sure he doesn't screw up the job and risk their reputation at Ritchie's school. She and Richard are also at odds over which of them should have a talk with Ritchie about sex.

As Rory's 21st birthday approaches, both Lorelai and Rory are saddened that their estrangement will keep them from spending the day the way they had always planned. Richard tries to convince Lorelai to help him concoct a plan to get Rory to return to Yale, but Lorelai insists that Rory has to make the decision herself. Meanwhile, Emily plans an elaborate birthday party. Later, Emily and Richard are shocked when they realize that Rory and Logan have been having sex. Former Secretary of State MADELEINE ALBRIGHT appears in a cameo role as herself.