This is the first two encounters in a row Todd has with crazy ladies, neither of them very satisfactory.
In this one Ruth Roman plays a woman how has been in prison for killing her abusive father. She left behind a small child and has returned to find him. But she's a bit unbalanced and focuses on Todd after he's been nice to her when nobody else would. Her paternal uncle, Ed Begley resents her for having killed his brother and hatches a plan to inflict pain upon her. He wants to hire Todd to pretend to be her son and then Begley will prove he isn't, thus breaking her heart. Her real son is Begley' s partner in a fishing boat, (Don Dubbins), and he's been taught to hate his mother.
Todd refuses but finds the woman won't believe him. (We find out Todd was born March 12, 1936 in the LeRoy Sanitarium in New York City, which makes him five years younger than Martin Milner: no wonder she didn't believe him!) He takes pity on her but when Begley finally springs the trap, Roman goes berserk and tries to do to Todd just what she did to Daddy- including putting his body in a trunk!. That's not spoiler as it's actually the first scene
.Just a wee bit over wrought.
This is the first episode not to have George Maharis in the credits so I assume it was the first one done after it was decided he would not be returning.