Betty Suarez is a sweet and intelligent girl who desperately wants to work in magazines. She gets a dream job as an assistant to Daniel Meade, the Editor in Chief of Mode Magazine when his father, publishing mogul Bradford Meade, is sick of him sleeping with his sexy assistants.
"The Book," the important and confidential mock-up for the magazine, gets stolen by Betty's neighbor Gina Gambarro when Betty brings it to her house. Betty is certain she'll be fired when she realizes that un-retouched pictures of an actress are about to be leaked to the press.
Daniel wants to do a better job at Mode than his deceased brother did as the editor of Hudson magazine. He unsuccesfully tries to brainstorm with Betty. Betty realizes she has a Queens connection to big time photographer Vincent Bianchi. When she scores a lunch meeting with him she decides to get a makeover. Meanwhile, Bradford Meade tries to get his hands on the car Fey Sommers died in.
Marc and Amanda take Betty to a networking party. When a rival magazine copies the Christmas photo shoot idea, the three fear they may have accidently leaked it to someone at the party. Daniel and Wilhelmina must work together to come up with a new idea. Justin joins Betty at work for a day.
Betty shows up at work in costume for Mode's Halloween contest, just to find out that there isn't one. Walter gives Betty a basket of Halloween candy and tells her there is a surprise at the bottom.
Betty and her family consult a lawyer to talk about their father being an illegal immigrant. They are told they need to hire a lawyer to work for them, which will cost them twenty thousand dollars.
Daniel gives Betty an assignment to review a posh Soho hotel. Sofia Reyes and her team take up residence in the Mode conference room, much to Daniel's dismay. Wilhelmina tries to woo a rich Texan who owns a chain of retail stores in order to get him to advertise in Mode. Hilda agrees to let Justin's father, Santos, visit him in exchange for some money to help her father get a lawyer.
It's Thanksgiving Day and Betty is very busy. Her family wants her at home, Daniel wants her to help him get Sophia's affections, and Betty wants to investigate the lawyer her sister hired.
Betty's family takes care of Daniel to help him sober up and get over Sofia. Meanwhile Betty tries to put together a last-minute photo shoot for a famous couple and their baby who are going to be on the cover of Mode. Wilhelmina and Marc go to greet the celebrities at the airport and get stranded in a shady part of town. Bradford Meade takes a trip.
It's time for the Mode Christmas party. Betty starts to have feelings for Henry so she tries to avoid him. Marc is afraid Wilhelmina wants to kill him. Amanda wants Betty's job now that it seems Betty is going to take the job with Sofia's magazine. Sofia tells Daniel to see other women while she is away.
It's time to clean out "the closet" at Mode and the assistants are going crazy over the high fashion clothing and accessories. Meanwhile, Betty's dad's HMO has suspended his insurance and Daniel's finance troubles make it difficult for him to impress an important Japanese designer.
Daniel decides he will ask Sofia to marry him. Unfortunately, Betty discovers that Sofia's intentions might not be what they seem. Meanwhile, everyone at Mode is shocked to see a gentle and kind Wilhelmina. She is being romanced by Ted, the wealthy Texan, and couldn't be happier. Ignacio tries to get his immigration caseworker to befriend him.
With Daniel suffering from a broken heart inflicted by Sofia, Betty is determined to get him back to work and over his sadness by setting him up on a date with a supermodel.
It's Fashion Week, the most important week of the year at Mode. Betty is working really hard to make sure everything goes smoothly. Unfortunately, Daniel offers Hilda a job helping out with the show.
Alex/Alexis's announcement leaves Mode in chaos and puts Bradford in jail. Wilhelmina plots her next move. Betty tries to keep the peace by getting Claire Meade involved. In Betty's love life, Henry asks her out while Walter tells her he's got a big surprise in store. Back at home, Hilda is upset when Santos gets involved after Justin is sent home from school for fighting.
Daniel's father needs a better lawyer so he forces Daniel to reconnect with Grace Chin, a girl he once stood up for a date in college. She's now known as "The Chin," NYC's most powerful lawyer.
Betty impulsively asks her orthodontist, Dr. Farkas, to be her date when Henry insists she come to Charlie's birthday party. Meanwhile, Wilhelmina tries to drive a wedge between Daniel and Alexis when Daniel hides the fact that he's the one who hired Grace Chin to defend their dad -- whom Alexis wants to fry -- and Amanda catches the eye of a very unusual designer who declares she's his "muse."
Mark convinces Betty to pretend to be his pretend girlfriend while his mother is in town since he can't use Amanda without his mom asking questions about why he hasn't married her yet.
Betty frantically tries to keep Daniel focused on work as he reverts to his old hard-partying ways, including romancing a multitude of stunning models.
Betty, fed up with Daniel, Christina and Henry and how they have all disappointed her, does her best to avoid all three. Meanwhile, love is all around at Mode, as Alexis gets asked out on her first date as a woman; Amanda begins a flirtation with a designer, who she assumes is gay; Wilhelmina struggles to deal with the tireless advances of her latest conquest, and Hilda gets a surprise from Santos.
Betty struggles to come up with the cash to solve the latest Suarez family dilemma, all while planning Mode's big bash at a medieval themed restaurant for Administrative Professionals Day.
Betty and her family go to Guadalajara to solve Ignacio's immigration problems. While there Betty questions her Aunt Mirta and Cousin Clara about her late mother. She learns that her grandmother is still alive. Meanwhile, Alexis gets a visit from Jordan, the woman she dated before her faked death and operation. Marc is jealous when Amanda seemingly has a new best gay friend in Tavares. Wilhelmina gives Bradford a makeover.
Wilhelmina and Hilda plan their weddings while Claire plans her escape. Betty and Henry's relationship hits another snag when Charlie shows up at Betty's announcing she's pregnant, but after Henry leaves for Tucson, Betty learns that the baby might not be his.