Donna has had enough of the Golden State. She misses Eric, who, although she doesn't know it, is headed West - despite his parents' objections - to declare his love and bring her home. Kelso, however, has decided he has found the woman of his dreams in Annette, who is beautiful and believes in him. Back in Wisconsin, Jackie is a changed woman, thanks to a change in boyfriends.
As punishment for Donna going away to California, Bob transfers her to a Catholic School, which means that Donna won't get to see Eric as much. Eric is determined to fight for their right to be together, until he sees Donna in her new school uniform. Jackie and Hyde get caught making out in the basement; Eric and Donna try to convince them to tell Kelso what's going on.
Kitty joyfully announces that she's pregnant, but the reaction that she gets from Red leaves a lot to be desired. Eric and Donna continue their campaign to get Jackie and Hyde to tell the truth about their relationship to Kelso. A trip to the DMV seems to present the perfect opportunity, but Fez is the one who seizes the day rather than Hyde.
Kitty's parents arrive from Arizona, after being told that Kitty has some wonderful news to share with them. Kitty's news isn't what she thought it would be, and throws a damper on the high spirits. Donna learns a thing or two from Bea about getting people to do things, while Eric and Red learn a thing or two from the World Book about "lady problems." Kelso works out his feelings about Jackie and Hyde's relationship.
In a romantic moment, Donna presents Eric with a ring, much like the promise ring that he gave her, and caused their break up. For Donna, the ring symbolizes their enduring love and committment; for Eric, it symbolizes ugliness. To protect Donna's feelings, he decides not to say anything, but the secret gains a life of its own. Kitty is determined not to let menopause affect her life, but has a hard time living up to her committment.
The kids prepare to make a weekend college visit to the University of Wisconsin. There's only one snag in the plan: Donna tells Eric that Bob will not let her go to UW. Instead he wants her to visit Marquette, a small Catholic college. So Donna and Jackie visit Marquette, where Jackie spends her time worrying about Hyde; the guys go to UW with Red and a very irritable Kitty.
When Eric decides to buy Donna a meaningful gift, he ends up getting her an engagement ring. But after discussing it with the guys, he realizes they are too young and the ring was a bad idea. Unfortunately, Eric already told Donna he got her a surprise and on their special evening out, he's put on the spot and forced to make the biggest decision of his life. Meanwhile, in an attempt to lift menopausal Kitty's spirits, Red gets her a dog: Schotzy.
Eric hides the fact that he's failing math from Red because he wants to prove that he's starting to get serious about his future. Red is so impressed by his son's apparent maturity that he bumps Laurie from the adults' table at Thanksgiving and gives her seat to Eric. This makes Eric think that the time may finally be right to announce to his engagement to Donna. However, the woman that Kelso brings as his date to the Formans' dinner complicates this decision.
When Jackie's father is arrested for bribery, Kelso thinks she'll come running back to him. But when Hyde and Kelso get into a brawl over Jackie, Kelso accidentally shoots Hyde with a BB gun and all hell breaks lose. Donna and Eric argue over how Hyde should deal with Jackie's pain. Meanwhile, Fez realizes he has a crush on his boss at the DMV.
The S.A.T. scores have come in and everyone does significantly better than Eric. He's particularly upset by Donna's high score and blames her for distracting him during the exam. As a result, Eric enlists Red to help him buckle down and stay away from Donna until he retakes the test. Meanwhile, Kelso discovers that he may have a bright future and Jackie pushes Hyde towards a college career.
When Fez decides to introduce his new girlfriend, Nina, to the gang, Kitty offers to throw a dinner party for the event. The guys resent being dragged to a dinner party, while the girls are excited at the thought of a grown-up night.
Jackie recruits the Formans to help clean out her family's mountain cabin, but decides it best not to ask for Hyde's assistance, instead telling him she is attending a doll expo. With Jackie going away, Hyde seizes the opportunity to use Jackie's cabin and invites Kelso and Fez. Donna and Eric get lost on the way to the cabin and spend the trip fighting. Hyde's plan goes wrong when Kelso gets his hand, holding his stash, stuck in a vase just as Jackie and the Formans arrive.
Annette, Kelso's girlfriend from California, comes to Point Place to visit him. The entire gang is shocked to learn how closely her personality resembles Jackie's, while Jackie tries to conceal her jealousy from Hyde. Meanwhile, Kitty's parents show up unexpectedly and announce that they'll be moving in for a while. This unpleasant situation gets far worse when Eric finds his grandfather collapsed in the driveway.
Hyde's depressed that Jackie still seems to have feelings for Michael. Annette's not happy either, because Kelso seems to still be attached to Jackie. And Kitty takes to her bed, because she feels her mother doesn't love her.
When Bob goes out of town, Eric and Donna decide to "practice" being married at her house. The gang is excited because they think this is a chance to party all weekend at the Pinciotti's place, until Eric and Donna are forced to set them straight. Meanwhile, Kitty goes to the jewelers to pick up a ring she thinks Red got her as a surprise. But she discovers the real surprise: it's actually an engagement ring for Donna.
Red is angry that Donna and Eric are engaged, so he gives Eric the silent treatment, leaving it up to Donna to try to talk to him. Fez finally does it with Nina; he's happy that he finally did it, but afterwards, things aren't so great. Kelso gives Jackie a birthday present, but insists that he's not trying to do anything; Hyde didn't even know it was her birthday.
Things are still bad between Red and Eric, so Kitty signs them up for the Point Place Paul Bunyan Pioneer Days Jamboree. The estranged men must work together in order to beat Charlie and Mitch, an obnoxious father/son team who have won the past two years. Meanwhile, Hyde doesn't understand why Leo hasn't called him back to work in a while. He takes the gang to the Foto Hut only to find the place has been completely cleaned out.
Everyone has their own reasons for going to the job fair. Eric needs a full-time job now that Red refuses to pay for college. The Photo Hut is closed, so Hyde's looking for work too. Fez wants to make out with Nina at the DMV booth while "Hot Donna" will be signing autographs at the radio station's booth. And after failing to flirt his way out of a parking ticket, Kelso fears that his good looks will fade and that he'll need a practical job like other 'uggos'.
The Formans discover that Jackie has been sleeping in Hyde's room since neither of her parents are home. The best solution that everyone can come up with is for Jackie to move in with Bob and Donna, but unforunately Jackie doesn't appreciate everyone's pity. Meanwhile, Red gives Eric a hard time when he finds out that his son sleeps nude. And Fez has dinner at Nina's house, where he learns that her parents don't want her dating her "third world friend".
The Pinciottis learn very quickly that living with Jackie is going to be difficult. Kelso swipes Jackie's panties to taunt Hyde, who has his revenge when Kelso gets a job at the hotel kitchen where Hyde works. Eric receives notice that he must return Donna's engagement ring if he can't make a payment by Friday. His visits to the jewelry store reveal that there's bad blood between Fez and Fenton, the jewelry guy.
Nina breaks up with Fez, although he doesn't realize it until the gang sets him straight. It turns out that Nina thinks Fez is too needy. As for the others, they decide to rejuvenate their dull lives by finding another friend to hang out with. Kitty has one candidate in mind, but she has an ulterior motive.
Hyde turns down a hot nurse out of faithfulness to Jackie, then demands that Jackie not hang out alone with Kelso any more. The recent nurse convention at the hotel inspires Fez to have an erotic dream about a nurse…who turns out to be Kelso! Naturally, Kelso freaks out, and he turns to his ex for comfort. Meanwhile, Eric accepts a job at the dog food factory where Joanne works in order to earn enough money to marry Donna.
Hyde cheats on Jackie because he thinks she still loves Kelso. After realizing his mistake, he apologizes to her but she breaks up with him. Red and Kitty dare Eric and Donna to get married by graduation in order to pressure them into calling off their engagement. Their plan works, but a little better than they expected. Fez refuses to give Mitch Miller his driver's license, so Mitch digs up dirt on him and Kelso. Laurie moves back home, determined to make up for her past wrongs.
The Formans are horrified when they realize that Red has gone fishing - he only does that when he's really angry. When he finally returns, Red has his final say on Eric and Donna's decision to move. Meanwhile, Kelso, Hyde, and Fez decide to paint obscene pictures on the water tower as their senior prank. Hyde and Kelso's arguing over Jackie lands Kelso in the hospital, leaving Fez to face the police alone and Jackie to face her feelings about who she wants to be with.
The gang will be split in half when high school graduation is over: Eric and Donna are all set to move into their Madison apartment, while poor Fez is about to be deported. The love triangle amongst the others grows more heated as Hyde and Kelso compete over an indecisive Jackie. But this tense situation is put aside so that the six friends can go camping together the night before graduation. Laurie tags along and dramatically changes Fez's life. Back at the Forman house, Red gives Kitty medication to help her deal with her depression over Eric's imminent departure.
