After a particularly spectacular basketball game, Lucas quickly supplants Nathan as the team's most popular player.
Lucas and Nathan bear the brunt of Dan's abuse as he coaches them into the playoffs, pushing both of them to their emotional breaking points.
Brooke's smug new male neighbor rescues her after she is arrested for shoplifting. Nathan and Haley have their first post-wedding argument when he buys her a gift rather than a much-needed car. Lucas' attempt to help Dan with rehab ends in disaster after Dan reverts to his old ways. Peyton tries to organize a club that caters to both kids and adults, but in order to finalize her pet project, she is pressured to try cocaine.
It's four years into the future and the Tree Hill gang has finished college. Now, their lives have taken completely different directions. Lucas has written and published a book, Brooke has made it big in the fashion industry with her brand "Clothes Over Bro's", Peyton is pursuing a career in the music business, and Nathan and Haley continue to raise a now older James.
The aftermath of the school shooting forces the residents of Tree Hill to examine their lives. Nathan reassesses his relationship with Haley, while Brooke and Rachel (recurring guest star Danneel Harris) join forces to heal the student body. Dan must deal with the ramifications of shooting Keith. And Lucas and Peyton consider the implications of their kiss in the library.
