The residents of Knots Landing, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, deal with various issues such as infidelity, health scares, rape, murder, kidnapping, assassinations, drug smuggling, corporate intrigue and criminal investigations.
Cast:Michele Lee , Ted Shackelford , Joan Van Ark , Kevin Dobson , William Devane , Donna Mills , Pat Petersen , Constance McCashin , Nicollette Sheridan , Julie Harris , Tonya Crowe , Doug Sheehan , Steve Shaw , Teri Austin , Larry Riley , Lisa Hartman , Victoria Ann Lewis , Michelle Phillips
Gary and Valene Ewing move to the cul-de-sac. Sid's daughter from his first marriage is visiting and brings a lot of emotional baggage.
J.R. visits Knots Landing as he wants to drill for oil offshore and the community protests.
Teacher's pet Richard runs for a school-board seat against a free-thinking teacher whom Karen finds dangerously attractive.
Laura is feeling unappreciated, so she goes to a cocktail lounge in the middle of the afternoon and meets an artist. The artist buys her a drink, then invites her to his studio to do a portrait of her as a ruse to rape her. She hides the truth from Richard by saying a serial rapist that is on the loose in Knots Landing just had raped her at home before Richard got home. Val knows that this is not the case and as she goes down to the police station to identify her attacker, the police end up arresting the wrong man.
Lilimae Clements, Val's mother, turns up in Knots Landing to visit her daughter. Valene confronts her over being abandoned as a child as Lilimae pursued her music career. As ghosts from the past come back to haunt the mother and daughter, they begin to put the past to rest.
Lucy comes to visit Knots Landing to see her parents, Valene and Gary. Lucy hopes that she will be happier with her parents, but due to past issues and Lucy's lifestyle in Dallas, things do not go quite as planned.
Diana is kidnapped by a motorcycle gang who have been causing trouble in the neighbourhood.
Sid's ex-wife Susan visits under the guise of needing his signature on some documents. Karen invites her to stay the weekend to test Sid. When Sid doesn't fall for her, she spends the night with Richard.
Ginger is being harassed with gifts from a mysterious source.
Karen discovers that she is pregnant and can't decide if she's delighted or devastated.
Deeply in debt, Richard leans on his neighbors for some quick cash.
After earning a promotion, reformed alcoholic Gary starts drinking again, which causes him to spiral out of control.
The lost weekend continues as Gary spirals downward until, sick and violent, he lands in a detox ward.
Sid is accused of rape by a hitchhiker. Meanwhile, his younger sister Abby Cunningham arrives in Knots Landing.
Sid fires Richard as his attorney and Karen helps clear his name. Abby decides to stay in Knots Landing and moves into a house on Seaview Circle.
Gary meets Judy Trent who wants his help in getting her husband Earl support from AA. Abby begins to show her manipulative nature by taking advantage of Eric and trying to seduce Kenny. Karen confronts her.
Richard quits his job at his law firm, hoping he will be hired by another, while Laura is blossoming at her job in real estate. Val starts college and Gary makes a deal with Orchid Cab Co.
Following her arrest for drug possession, Sue Ellen Ewing's younger sister Kristin Shepard arrives in Knots Landing after calling Valene for help. She is later caught in a compromising position with Kenny.
Diana feels pressured to sleep with her boyfriend Bobby, and undergoes a rite of passage afterwards. Meanwhile, Richard and the saucy Abby have a brief encounter.
The neighbors throw a barbecue for Laura to celebrate her new success as a realtor. At the party, Richard paws Abby and Laura overhears them planning to meet later.
Michael's continued hyperactive behaviour is a major source of concern for Karen and Sid. Abby becomes bookkeeper at Knots Landing Motors. Gary receives threats from Orchid Cab Co. and is ordered to pay them $50,000.
J.R. returns to Knots Landing and Abby asks him to lend Gary $50,000 to pay off a debt.
Sid is oblivious to Linda's seduction, Richard gives Laura the brush-off and Abby tires of Richard.
When her ex-husband files for custody of their children, Abby fights back with her most effective weapon: sex.
Linda finally has Sid right where she wants him: lip to lip and miles from home after their car conveniently breaks down.
Val deals with the news that she has a malignant tumour in her colon and may need a colostomy far better than Gary does. Bobby arrives from Dallas to give Gary home truths.
Ginger's baby shower ends in suspense and terror when armed robbers take the party guests hostage.
Ginger's younger sister Cindy's weakness for weed ensnares Eric in lies, family strife and near tragedy.
Abby comes onto Gary. Everyone believes that Laura is having an affair with Scooter and Earl Trent asks Val to sleep with him.
J.R. is back in Knots Landing to patent Sid's new car-engine design, but Sid is not interested.
Abby's ex-husband Jeff kidnaps their children Olivia and Brian. The Orchid Cab Co. come back to haunt Gary and Sid when the cut the brakes on Sid's car, which goes over a cliff.
Sid survives the car crash but goes into a coma. Gary is apologetic to Karen but she won't listen.
Sid insists on undergoing an operation that could cure him of his paralysis but also possibly kill him.
Now facing life as a widowed mother of three, Karen tries to move herself and her children along with their lives.
Abby tries to find her children and Lilimae returns to Knots Landing.
Abby's children are returned to her after she tricks Jeff and she gets a restraining order against him.
Karen's former boyfriend, Teddy Becker, visits Knots Landing and believes he is Diana's real father. Val and Lilimae bond after bad memories resurface.
Laura believes that Richard is having an affair when he starts to go to client parties so she goes on a trip to Santa Barbara with Scooter out of spite.
Diana misinterprets Karen's friendship with a widower named Bill Medford. Out of spite, she goes to a party with a biker friend whom Karen hates.
Lilimae meets a con man who wrongly believes she is rich. He takes her to Las Vegas hoping to marry her but when he discovers she is poor, he confesses all. Gary spends time with Abby and her children and Lilimae warns Val about the situation.
The women of the Cul-de-sac are stranded in a supposedly haunted house where they must spend the night.
Gary and Abby invest in a company which make methanol cars. Gary mortgages the house behind Val's back. While in Mexico, Gary and Abby have their first kiss, while Val is left home upset by the recent revelations.
Richard and Laura set Karen up on her first date but she doesn't like the man.
Karen's college friend Victoria Hill visits and organizes a fashion show which the women of the Cul-de-sac help out with. Laura discovers she is pregnant.
A man from Valene's past drops by for a visit, but he leaves behind his stepdaughter Cricket. From the very start, it seems that Cricket is a problem child with serious issues. Karen's brother Joe comes to town.
Val writes a journal about the Ewings of Dallas for an assignment. Without her knowledge, Abby shows it to Karen's brother Joe, who believes that it is good enough to be published. Laura leaves Richard.
Abby informs Gary that they need $20,000 to keep their methanol company going. She meets a wealthy old man who may be the solution to her problems.
Abby, Gary and Val go to Sacramento to meet a senator about making methanol legal or their business will fail. Abby sleeps with the senator to get the bill passed. Karen comes to terms with Sid's death.
Val's book about the Ewings is published but Gary is angry because it is about his family's scandals. Gary and Abby become closer.
Richard suffers a nervous breakdown and holds Laura at gunpoint in a night-long siege.
While a distraught Valene is stranded in a roadhouse overnight, Gary and Abby take advantage of her absence by sleeping together for the first time. Karen tries to convince Laura to visit Richard in the psychiatric institution.
Abby and Gary continue their affair until Gary's guilt forces him to end it. However, Val is already suspicious and confronts Abby. Laura considers reconciling with Richard.
Laura moves back in with Richard after finding his suicide note. Karen and Lilimae spot Gary and Abby together. Karen later catches them in the act and confronts them but then Val walks in on them and leaves Gary.
Karen meets Marion Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie after barging into the Federal Prosecutor's office, where he is handling Sid's case. Gary tries to talk to Val following their split and Abby sends J.R. chapters from Val's book "Capricorn Crude".
J.R. comes back to Knots Landing following a deal with Abby. In the meantime, Mack and Joe talk Karen out of going after the people who murdered Sid and Laura prepares to give birth.
Gary wants to get back with Val and even Lilimae tries to help. He also becomes entranced by a beautiful singer called Ciji. Mack continues to help Karen and Ginger becomes jealous of Ciji and Kenny's working relationship.
Karen looks through KLMotors books to find checks from West Century Auto, Frank and Roy's company, whom she believes are Sid's killers. Karen also invests in Richard's restaurant after hearing about money worries from Laura. Val meets her new publicist, Chip Roberts.
Gary must go to Dallas for the reading of his father's will and asks Val to accompany him, but she refuses. Abby wants to go with him but he doesn't ask her, and she is furious with him after later discovering he asked Val. Richard opens his restaurant "Daniel". Ginger is upset about Kenny's attentions toward Ciji's career and not hers. Karen and Mack finally get a confession from Sid's murderers.
Following the reading of Jock's will, Abby surprises Gary. Meanwhile, Val comes to Dallas to promote her book and Chip talks Lilimae into letting him stay with her.
Abby's mad when Gary and Kenny decide to go into business together to produce a record for Ciji, and then promises money to Richard. She tells Gary if they don't have a partnership she will leave him. Abby makes Richard sign a contract that she will be in control of Gary's investment in Daniel, and if he doesn't sign, she'll make sure he doesn't get any money. Val is upset that Lilimae invited Chip to live with them. Lilimae introduces Chip to Ciji, and they're attracted to one another. Diana gives Chip a car from KLMotors. Karen and Mac go camping for the weekend, but she refuses to sleep with him and they argue the whole time. Joe tells her that she's in love with Mac and that he's moving back to New York. Karen and Mac talk and realize they're both scared of getting into a relationship. They make love.
Abby and Gary move to a beach house together. Val becomes suspicious of Chip. Chip tells Ciji that he is dating Diana, which is helping her career.
Laura discovers Richard took money from Abby. Abby is jealous of Gary and Ciji spending the day together. Diana discovers Mack with another woman and she tells Karen. Mack confesses his love to Karen but she doesn't reciprocate.
Diana needs a kidney transplant but the family aren't compatible matches so Karen asks Abby to be tested. Karen lets Mack comfort her during the ordeal. Ginger writes a song and shows it to Kenny who has Ciji sing it, which infuriates Ginger.
Abby initially refuses to donate her kidney to Diana until she is talked around. Chip tells Diana he loves her and presents her with a necklace, which was originally for Ciji. Laura and Ciji become friends.
Mack's father, Pete, returns to his life and begs for forgiveness as he is dying. Chip wants Ciji to sign a contract which will make him entitled to her earnings. Karen throws a party in the cul-de-sac and Diana sees Chip kissing Ciji.
Abby sells Ciji's contract to Jeff Munson. Jeff wants Kenny to produce Ciji, but Abby will only sell if they cut Kenny out of the deal. Abby goes to Gary's lawyer, James Westmont, and wants him to protect her interests in case Gary doesn't marry her. Ciji tells Chip that she's pregnant, and Chip yells that this will ruin everything and manhandles her. Val has been putting off signing her divorce papers but eventually signs them.
Kenny and Gary almost have a fight over Abby's deals. Mack proposes to Karen and she accepts.
A tabloid newspaper prints Val's new manuscript about her break-up with Gary. Chip lies to Lilimae about Gary cheating on Abby with Ciji and Val overhears. Karen and Mack get married in Las Vegas.
Mack moves into Karen's home, which results in mixed feeling within the family. Gary begins to drink again because of Abby's scheming. Richard tells Laura he dislikes her spending so much time with Ciji. The rumours of Gary and Ciji's supposed affair are out in the open.
Gary wakes up in Ciji's bed. Abby threatens Ciji to stay away from Gary. Ciji confides in Laura about everyone hating her as she hasn't done anything wrong. Richard accuses Laura of having a lesbian affair with Ciji. Abby has a clause put in her contract that gives her full power if Gary's alcoholism continues. Ciji discovers an old newspaper clipping Chip had been keeping about himself that says he is being sought for beating up a woman and that his name is actually Tony Fenice.
Laura throws Richard out after he confronts Ciji and physically attacks her. Ciji tells Val that she has caused Gary to drink again and they fight. After Ciji doesn't show up to perform at the restaurant, her dead body washes ashore.
Ciji's body is discovered and a murder case begins with many people as suspects. Later, Gary is charged with her murder.
Gary starts to sober up while in jail but Abby refuses to bail him out. Val admits to having a fight with Ciji before she was murdered.
While Gary is being held in jail for the murder of Ciji, it's Valene that confesses to killing her. Lilimae tells Chip that she's had enough of his lies and kicks him out of the house. Richard walks out on his family.
While Abby plots to have him institutionalized, Val makes one last ditch effort to get through to Gary; Laura interprets Richard's disappearance as an admission of guilt; and the Wards prepare to leave Knots Landing.
Mack believes Chip killed Ciji and a search begins for him. Karen is upset that Diana has gone with Chip. A mystery man helps Val when she is bombarded by reporters. The murder charge against Gary is dropped due to lack of evidence.
Val discovers who her mystery man is. Diana and Chip are on the road, where Diana discovers the police are after Chip. Chip confesses to her that he killed Ciji.
Abby and Gary move into Westfork Ranch. Abby and Westmont secretly start a subsidiary of Gary's company called "Apolune." Chip and Diana are found by the police but Diana rebuffs Karen in favor of Chip as she has just married him.
Diana tells Karen that Chip killed Ciji for her. Abby has five days to marry Gary as he will then inherit 10% of Ewing Oil and she wants it to become community property.
At Greg's fundraiser, Val introduces Ben to Gary. Lilimae tries to make Chip and Diana testify as there isn't enough evidence to prove that he killed Ciji. When Chip is released without charge, Lilimae runs him down with her car.
Lilimae is arrested as Chip lies in a coma. Diana blames Karen for running down Chip. Val seeks comfort in Gary and they end up sleeping together.
Eric persuades Diana to testify. Laura advises Gary to leave Val alone. Gary and Abby marry. While at a hotel on their honeymoon, he meets a woman who looks exactly like Ciji.
Karen begins to take pain killers. Abby decides to secretly develop Lotus Point but Laura discovers what Abby is up to. Gary receives his 10% share of Ewing Oil but also becomes obsessed with Ciji's lookalike, Cathy. Chip disappears from the hospital.
Abby finds out she'll need a coastal variance to develop Lotus Point and asks Greg for help and they end up in bed together. Gary continues to pursue Cathy. Val and Ben sleep together.
Gary begins to have Cathy dress and sing like Ciji, which disturbs Laura. Abby and Greg are caught together by his daughter Mary-Frances. Diana finds Chip hiding at Gary's ranch.
Mack tries to find out who the head of the sinister Wolfbridge group is. Cathy tells Gary she isn't Ciji and never will be. Abby receives her variance from Greg and they kiss but are seen by Laura. Karen continues to take the pain pills which causes Val concern. At the ranch, Chip tells Diana they must leave together but when he sees Cathy, he stumbles back and falls onto a pitchfork and is killed.
Mack realises that Wolfbridge is bigger than he first thought. Abby warns Laura to not play her game. Val tells Mack that she is worried about Karen's dependency on pills but Karen disagrees with her.
Greg's wife, Jane, comes to town. It becomes clear that Abby hired Cathy because she looked like Ciji and wanted to keep Gary occupied, but when Cathy tells her she wants to end their deal, Abby won't let her. Ben asks Val to be more committed to their relationship. Val discovers that she is pregnant but that Gary is the father.
Val tells Ben that she is pregnant with Gary's baby and he leaves her. Mack's investigation into Wolfbridge results in his home being ransacked and Greg's office too. Abby is forced to be partners with Wolfbridge in the Lotus Point development. Karen's pill dependency gets worse.
Karen is admitted into a rehab program. Abby gets angry at Greg for getting her involved with Wolfbridge. Greg also has his own problems with them during the election.
Gary discovers that Cathy spent four years in prison. Ben tells Val to inform everyone that Gary is the father of her baby. Ben and Mack delve deeper into Wolfbridge and Karen begins therapy.
Gary tells Abby about Cathy's prison sentence but Abby pretends to know nothing about it. She tells Cathy to leave or she will tell her ex-husband where she is. Karen and Diana finally make up.
Cathy's ex-husband, Ray, arrives. Mack learns that Apolune is Abby's company via Laura, who is being threatened by Mark St. Claire of the Wolfbridge Group.
Ben proposes to Val and tells her he will raise her child as his own. Cathy tells Gary that she went to prison after taking the blame for Ray's crime. Abby denies being involved with Wolfbridge, but Gary throws her out after her schemes are exposed. Brian and Olivia choose to stay with Gary.
Abby orders Cathy to leave the ranch until Gary tells her to stay. Gary and Cathy sleep together. Gary wants to divorce Abby but she doesn't want to divorce him.
Val learns that she is having twins. Ben disappears while in El Salvador. Gary protects Cathy from Ray.
Val wants to go and find Ben in El Salvador but is persuaded not to because of her pregnancy. The Wolfbridge Group arranges to have Gary eliminated so that Abby will inherit his money and Lotus Point will continue. After a shooting at Gary's ranch, Mack tells Val that Gary has been killed.
Everyone is shocked about Gary's murder. Ben is found alive in El Salvador. Abby is questioned about Gary's murder and the Wolfbridge group but denies any involvement.
Ben returns home to Val. The hitman actually shot Ray, not Gary. Greg asks Karen why none of the Ewings of Dallas came to Gary's funeral, and tells St. Claire that he thinks Gary is still alive. Greg tells Abby to sell Lotus Point to Wolfbridge, but she won't. Greg tells St. Claire that he is through dealing with him, and calls Abby to tell her Gary is alive. Abby goes to the Mackenzie's and tells Karen that Gary's alive and Mac is using him to get to Wolfbridge. Karen feels betrayed and confronts Mac after he promised her he was done investigating the dangerous Wolfbridge Group and tells him their marriage is over.
The Wolfbridge Group arranges to have Gary killed once and for all, but the plan goes disastrously wrong. Abby is kidnapped by them and Karen is shot by accident.
The police lose Abby, who was kidnapped by Mark St. Claire. Karen is told that she will need surgery to remove the bullet.
Karen is told that a piece of the shattered bullet is lodged in her spine and must have risky surgery to remove it but she refuses because of what happened to Sid. Lilimae's nephew Joshua Rush arrives to stay with her and wishes to know about his mother. Greg finds Abby and shoots St. Claire.
Greg tells the police he shot St. Claire in self defense and Abby backs him up. Gary tells Abby he is taking back the company and has made several changes. Gary ends his affair with Cathy and Val guesses that Lilimae is Josh's real mother.
Greg tells Abby they will never work together again. Josh discovers that Lilimae is his real mother.
Abby finds out that Gary is the real father of Val's unborn babies.
Val and Gary try to reunite Mack and Karen. Abby worries that Val will tell Gary of the babies true paternity. Abby complains to Scott Easton about the babies. Cathy and Josh have a romantic dinner. Greg wins the election and becomes senator.
Karen serves Mack with divorce papers. Josh and Cathy sleep together. Scott Easton has lunch with Mitch Ackerman. Val goes to see her obstetrician, but she has been called away to a conference, and there is a new doctor - Mitch Ackerman.
Val goes into labour and is put under sedation. However, she remains conscious and hears the babies cry and the nurse saying that they are healthy. When Val comes round, Dr. Ackerman tells her that the babies were stillborn.
No one believes Val when she says that her babies are alive. No one, that is, except Abby, who is concerned that her lawyer Scott Easton may have arranged for them to be kidnapped immediately after they were born.
Valene's increasingly erratic behaviour is a major source of concern to Ben, Lilimae and Joshua. After learning that Scott Easton is dead, Abby asks Dr. Ackerman where the babies are but he tells her that she is sick.
After a brief sojourn in Nevada, an increasingly unstable Val travels to Tennessee under the name Verna Ellers and gets a waitressing job in a diner. Meanwhile, everyone tries to locate her.
Galveston asks Gary to get involved with Empire Valley. Val hears a report about her disappearance but doesn't respond to it. Karen has trouble with her hands functioning properly and she tells Mack.
Karen agrees to have the surgery. Abby knows where Val is but keeps it to herself. Josh's TV appearances prove popular. Abby wants to be part of Empire Valley but Galveston refuses as she is a woman.
Karen's spinal surgery goes well. Galveston realises Abby that she knows where Val is. Greg tells Mack to investigate Galveston Industries for the Tidal Basin murders.
Greg tells Laura about Galveston being his father. Abby confronts Val but she doesn't recognize her and Parker asks Val to marry him after discovering that she is Valene Ewing. Gary flies to Tennessee.
Gary tries to help Val regain her memory but she thinks he is crazy and tells her new boyfriend, Parker, that she will marry him. Karen unknowingly tells Galveston about Mack's investigation.
Before her wedding to Parker, Gary shows Val her picture on the back of her book "Nashville Junction". Abby worries that Mack will discover her connection to Val's missing babies. Joshua berates Cathy about her life.
Val finally regains some memories and agrees to return home with Gary. Mack believes that Empire Valley is a cover for something bigger. Galveston tells Abby that he will tell Gary about being the twins' father but he suffers a stroke.
Val begins therapy and remembers her troubled past with her mother. Abby tries to find evidence on Scott Easton regarding Val's babies.
Gary wants to shut down construction on Empire Valley until he speaks to Galveston, who is "away." Ben discovers Galveston Industries caused an epidemic when chemicals contaminated the water and Galveston covered it up. Val tells Karen that she knows that her babies are alive. Karen asks Mack to consider the possibility that the babies could be alive.
Karen starts to question people about the day that Val gave birth. Galveston dies and his wife Ruth arrives, telling her son, Greg, that she wants him to take over Galveston Industries. Greg learns that Empire Valley is a communications center, which will be used to interfere with the governments own communications.
Karen talks with Val's original obstetrician Dr. Kellin, who reveals that she was called away to a conference when Val gave birth. Cathy sings on Joshua's show and he announces that the two of them are going to be married, without having previously discussed the matter with Cathy. Mack finds an address in Galveston's papers, which leads him to a couple called named Harry and Sheila Fisher. Greg resigns from the Senate and takes over Galveston Industries. Abby tells him that she wants to be a part of the real Empire Valley.
Joshua proposes to Cathy and she accepts. Abby manipulates Coblentz into telling her everything he knows. Karen meets Val's nurse but doesn't get any answers.
Ben tells Karen to stop going on about the twins being alive. Greg offers to buy Gary out of Empire Valley. Joshua bullies Cathy into wedding plans. Gary learns that Galveston has left Empire Valley to him in his will.
Greg tries to make Gary aware of the importance of Empire Valley without telling him any details but says that he has to agree to let things continue in the direction they have been going or sell the land. Gary refuses. John Coblenz finally fills Gary in and gets him to agree to the associates demands. Joshua and Cathy get married. Karen finally catches up with Dr. Ackerman.
Karen tries to talk to Dr. Ackerman without much success. Ackerman calls Abby telling her to sort it out. Gary tells Greg he wants to be part of Empire Valley and later lies to Mack and Ben about what's going on there. Abby tells Greg about Scott Easton and her link to Val's missing babies in order to get Galveston's papers which Greg gives her, but he has kept the relevant ones for himself. Greg is then seen observing the babies from his car.
Ben proposes to Val but she declines and he believes she can hear her babies cry. Karen tells Ben of her and Mack's investigation. Greg asks Abby to get Gary out of Empire Valley and suggests that if Gary knows he is the father of Val's twins his interest in Empire Valley will disappear. Mack is offered the chance to become a senator.
Ben discovers that Ackerman has a motive for stealing Val's babies. Ruth helps Abby get Scott Easton's notebook pages.
Val's nurse confirms that Ackerman stole the babies. When Karen and Mack confront him, Ackerman shoots himself in the head.
Greg asks Laura to marry him. Mack tracks the babies down to Harry and Sheila Fisher. Abby tells Val that the babies are alive and she takes her to the Fisher's home, where Harry drives away with one of the twins.
Valene has an anxious wait to see if her twins will be returned to her. Abby remains on edge as she waits to find out if her lies and plotting will be exposed. Gary receives terrible news from Dallas.
While Gary is in Dallas for Bobby's funeral, Greg changes the plans at Empire Valley. Mack has a restraining order put on the Fishers to stop them leaving town with the babies. Karen tries to persuade Harry to accept that the babies can't remain with him and Sheila. Val finally has her babies returned to her.
Greg and Abby make sure the detonation area at Empire Valley goes ahead, despite it being in the place Gary didn't want it. Val gets used to being a mother to the twins as Ben feels left out. Abby hands running of the TV station over to Ben. Joshua is furious when Cathy agrees to buy a house without consulting him and tells her to move into it by herself. Gary grieves for Bobby.
Mack decides to investigate adoptions and asks the governor to send him someone to help him with the red tape. He sends Jill Bennett. She and Mack flirt and they kiss. Greg sees Laura with a co-worker and is jealous. Greg gives Abby a phony report that says the site for the TV station is better then where Gary wanted it. Ben tells Joshua that his ratings are slipping. Josh apologizes to Cathy and asks her to sing on his show again. Val plans the babies' christening. She asks Mack and Karen to be the godparents. Val decides to name her daughter Elizabeth (Betsy) after Ben's mother. Lilimae's shoulder hurts, and so she goes to a few doctors' appointments, but it's nothing serious. Joshua tells Cathy that Lilimae's dying, so he can't move out. Sheila Fisher follows Val and the babies around. Harry's worried about her. They go to Val's and tell her they're moving, but will always love the babies. Val lets them say goodbye to the twins.
Greg has an underground chamber built at Empire Valley for the communications center. Ben is depressed over whether he and Val will ever get married. Ben tells Joshua he'd better do something to get his ratings up, or he'll cancel his show. Joshua asks Cathy to sing again, but she doesn't want to and they argue. The next day Cathy has a big bruise. Val thinks Joshua hit her.The governor decides to keep Jill at Mac;'s office. He's angry and he and Jill continually argue. Greg decides to hire an assistant. A man comes in and says to the other applicants that the position was filled, so they all leave. Abby is there, and he says "Didn't you hear me? I said it was filled!" Abby tells Greg she likes him. He is Peter Hollister and says Greg needs him to run his office properly and that he wants to learn from Greg.
Joshua is upset that Cathy gets more fan mail than he does. Ben shows Cathy how much the ratings rise when she is on. Cathy asks if Joshua knows that and Ben says yes. Gary's upset that the TV station was built on the wrong site. Greg tells Abby that she'd better get Elliot to back up their phony report (as Peter listens in on the phone). Abby tells Elliot that she found out his son was once arrested on a drug charge. He's graduating from law school and Abby threatens to tell his employers, so Elliot lies to Gary about the phony report. Karen's jealous of Mac working with Jill, and tells Val that the way they argue reminds her of she and Mac when they first met. Jill tells Mac she is going back to Sacramento, but he says he'd like her to stay.
Jill tells Mack that she loves him. Peter listens in as Abby tells Greg that Gary called the surveyor to come into town. Peter has a man call Gary pretending to be the surveyor and rectifies the situation. Karen offers Laura a job overseeing the next phase at Lotus Point. Joshua doesn't show up for a taping, so Ben has Cathy sing for the whole show. Josh sees it, and is really upset. He meets a waitress, Linda, and makes out with her. Joshua has Cathy meet him and he beats her up. She runs to Ben's. They have a heart to heart talk, and Ben tells her to leave Joshua. Cathy points out that he doesn't leave Val. Val tells Ben she loves him and is ready to get married. He says that's not a solution, but she convinces him. He says he will, but that he wants to be the twins' father - their only father, and Val agrees. Gary stops by to see the twins, and begins to suspect that he may be their father.
Gary is sure the twins are his. Joshua tries to break into Cathy's apartment, and then trashes Val's house. Val kicks him out and Lilimae is upset. At the station Joshua finds out that Ben gave his show to Cathy, and he and Ben fight. Cathy tells Ben that Josh is upset because Lilimae is dying. Ben talks with her Doctor, who says Lilimae only has bursitis. Cathy is upset that Joshua would lie to her like that. Greg thinks Peter is snooping too much, but Peter says Greg is sloppy with information. Equipment convoys for the underground communication center are coming to Empire Valley on Monday, so Abby asks Gary to go away with her to get him out of town.Val and Ben ask the Mackenzies to stand up for them at their wedding, and to go along with them that Ben is the twins' father. On the day of the wedding, Val and Lilimae make up. Gary decides to drop Olivia off before going out of town and stops to talk to Val. Ben sees this and isn't happy.
Ben and Val get married and go on their honeymoon, where they act really silly. Abby tells Elliot that all the men need physicals on Monday for insurance purposes. Elliot goes to the site and snoops in the underground chamber. On vacation, Abby gets a call that Elliot is dead, so they come home. Abby asks Greg why Elliot had to die, and surprised, he says he thought she had him killed. Cathy's apartment is filled with flowers from Joshua, and she is scared because he got in. She moves back in with Laura. Jason lets Josh in, and he begs Cathy to take him back. Laura orders him out of the house. They fight, and he knocks Laura over. Mac says he's filing a complaint and that Josh better stay out of the neighborhood. Joshua tells them he only hit Cathy to keep her off of drugs. He goes to Lilimae's and talks to her about how Jonathan physically abused him. Joshua is staying with Linda, and he tells her not to worry, that Cathy won't be in their way much longer.
Joshua plots to ensure that he and Cathy stay together forever, by whatever means necessary.
Everyone is coming to terms with the aftermath of Joshua's fall, while Gary becomes suspicious of Abby's involvement with Greg Sumner and Empire Valley.
Gary and Mack get closer to finding out the truth behind Empire Valley, but Greg is using any means necessary to stop them.
Greg threatens Abby with information about Val's babies. Greg tells Coblenz that Gary blew up Empire Valley because he tried to have him killed.
Peter tells Laura that Greg needs her, so she invites him to dinner. Gary tells Val that he know the twins are his. She tells him that he needs to respect that she, Ben and the twins are a family. Gary continues to hang around the twins, so Ben tells Gary it has to stop. Abby gets mad when Gary sides with Karen on a Lotus Point issue. He says that he trusts Karen, and doesn't trust her, so he will always side with Karen, and she'd better get used to it. Gary also sleeps with another woman. Jill is in town and tells Karen the Governor wants to know if she'd be interested in being on the State Planning Commission. Karen says yes. Jill is very cool towards Mack, who introduces her to Gary. Kenny is arrested for Joshua's murder. Cathy wants to tell the truth, but Lilimae says they will release him if they keep quiet. However, Kenny is charged with the murder.
When Abby hears that Karen is being considered for the planning commission, she tells Greg that she wants the seat. Abby tries to talk to Gary, but he says it's over, and he invites Jill for a drink. Ben is angry that Gary knows about the twins, but Val swears she didn't tell him. Greg sends Laura a note that says "I Love You Very Much" and takes her out for a romantic evening. Laura asks Mack how she can get divorced, since she can't find Richard. Cathy still wants to tell the truth, and is depressed over the situation. Ben tries to cheer her up. Cathy finally tells Mack the truth, and Mack tells Val to talk to Lilimae. Val tries, but Lilimae says it would tarnish Joshua's memory. Finally Val gets through to her by saying that Kenny has a mother too. Lilimae goes to the police station.
Jill tells Karen that someone spoke to the Governor on Abby's behalf, but she'll do all she can to help her. Abby tells Karen that they won't choose her because of her drug problem. Karen tells them about her drug problem, but it's too late - the Governor already chosen Abby. Peter lets Greg know he went to law school. He then visits his mother and they talk about how they'll have a lot of money soon. Cathy and Lilimae are grilled by police. The police tell Mac that they may be charged with murder - after all, Cathy was in prison for murder, and Lilimae had run over Chip. Cathy has a new saxophone player on her show, Sonny Harkins. He befriends Cathy and says he'll be there if she needs to talk. Unbeknownst to her, he tapes their conversations.
The police decide not to prosecute Lilimae and Cathy, however a story about what happened is in the tabloid that Sonny works at. Peter and his mother discuss her relationship with Galveston, and how Peter is Greg's half brother. Jill tells Mack that the Governor wants her to work with him, and she'll be moving into the office next to his. She gives him the key to her room at the Bryant Hotel. Mack drives by the hotel, but decides not to go in. Greg calls Abby, and Olivia picks up an extension. She hears Greg threaten to tell Gary that Abby knew all along that he was the father of the twins, and that she knew they were alive. Upset, Olivia asks the Mackenzies if she can live with them, though she won't say why. Abby and Gary go to get her, and she tells Abby that if she doesn't let her live there, she will tell Gary about the twins. Olivia asks her how she could do something like that, and Abby leaves, very upset.
Peter tells Greg that he's his brother, and brings Sylvia to meet him. Laura thinks Peter is up to something, and is frustrated that Greg seems unconcerned. Abby overhears Laura telling this to Karen, and she asks Peter out for a drink. Gary decides to go into racing. Karen finds Jill's hotel key in Mac's pocket and confronts him with it. He tries to explain that he would never use it, but it made him feel younger, more alive, like life wasn't passing him by, and he hopes Karen will understand. Crying, she says no. Mac's upset that Jill went through his Westfall file without permission. Sonny accidentally drops a tape marked "Cathy #3". Val plays the tape, and hears Sonny's notes about his articles. Meanwhile, Sonny is out to dinner with Cathy. She tells him how Joshua tried to throw her off of the roof, and that Lilimae saved her life. Sonny says he's sorry for what Joshua did to her.
The tabloid has an article about how Joshua tried to kill Cathy. Ben tells her that Sonny works for the tabloid. She breaks down crying and Ben comforts her. Cathy slaps Sonny, who tells her he had to do it, to tell her side of the story. Greg tells Laura that Galveston kept a file on Sylvia, and sent her monthly checks. Greg tells Peter that he can prove his loyalty by working with him to recover Empire Valley and bring down Gary and Abby. Jill continues to investigate Westphall, but won't tell Mack why. Mack gives her back the key and it upsets Jill. Mack apologizes to Karen and gives her flowers, but she's still angry, and he accuses her of blowing it out of proportion. Val takes Mac's side, saying he didn't use the key and that she shouldn't lose her marriage because of her hurt pride, but Karen insists she feels betrayed.
Karen and Mack make up. Greg asks Peter to start a social relationship with Abby. Peter tells Sylvia that Greg wants him to spy on Abby, and Abby wants him to spy on Greg. Sylvia is concerned that Peter's double dealing will backfire on him. Gary and Jill sleep together. Later, they run into Peter, who asks Jill if Gary suspects anything. She says no. Mack and Ben think that the Governor must be opening the Westphall case, since Jill is so interested in it. Abby hires a detective to check out Jill. Michael finds that Olivia has a joint, but she says she's holding it for a friend. Val throws a party for the twins' first birthday. They open the card from Gary, and inside is a deed to half of Empire Valley.
Val and Ben think Gary's gift is out of line, but he's given it to them in a trust, so they can't do anything about it. Ben's furious, and tells Gary that there's a lot more to being a father than genes, and he is the twins' father. Greg and Abby are furious when they find out Gary gave away Empire Valley. Mac finds out that Jill hounded the Governor for months to work with him, but she says it was just a career move. A woman comes up to Mac and Jill, and calls her Dottie Simpkins, and says they went to Franklin High together. Jill says she must be mistaken. Mac finds out that Franklin High is in Westfall. Michael can tell Olivia is stoned, but she denies it. She goes out to dinner with Abby and smokes pot in the bathroom. Michael drops Olivia off at school, and is then pulled over by the police. They find a joint in his car.
Michael is booked. He denies the joint is his, but won't say who's it is. Michael tried to convince Olivia to tell the truth, but she won't. Karen suspects it is Olivia's and tells Abby, who is enraged that Karen could think such a thing. Gary is in a race car crash, and is kept in the hospital overnight for observation. Abby shows up and doesn't like that Jill is there. She tells Peter that she values her marriage and to "distract" Jill. Mack and Jill go to check water samples at Westphall. The town doctor, who thinks he recognizes Jill, says that there has been an increase in arsenic poisoning. Mac looks through a Franklin High yearbook, and sees Jill's picture with the name Dorothy Simpkins. Greg tells his attorney to make Peter an offer, but not too big. He tells Laura it is a test. If Peter accepts less than half of the company, then he is not his brother. A guest at Lotus Point gets sick with arsenic poisoning.
Abby finds a joint in Olivia's purse and makes her tell the truth. Olivia threatens her with the twins, and Abby says to go ahead and tell. The judge lets Olivia off, but says she has to join a support group. Greg offers Peter $5,000,000. Peter doesn't accept, and tells Sylvia that it's a test. Jill tells Mack that her father used to own Empire Valley, and Galveston swindled him out of it, so her father shot himself. Cathy tells Ben she wants to leave the show. He confides in her (and later Mack) that he is tired of Gary being in his life whichever way he turns. He and Cathy kiss. Mack tells Gary that his little trust fund stunt could cost Val her marriage, and he needs to think of consequences before he does things. Abby tells Gary that he failed Olivia, Lotus Point, and their marriage. Gary says that he's decided to divorce her.
Abby doesn't want a divorce, and tells Gary that if he doesn't give her the rest of Empire Valley, she will drag out their divorce, and involve Val and the twins. Gary gives it to her. Abby tricks Sylvia into telling her that Peter is not really her son. Abby has Peter escort her to a fundraiser. Gary is there with Jill, so Abby says if Peter doesn't distract her, she will stop paying his attorney. Peter says he'll tell everyone about the twins. Greg then threatens Abby with the twins. Abby, tired of everyone holding this over her, declares in front of everyone that she knew about the twins. She knew the twins were alive all along, but didn't want to say anything until she had proof, and as soon as she got it, she was the one who brought Val to the babies. Ben then steps in and tells everyone it's none of their business. Cathy tells Ben that she's been offered a tour. Abby brings Olivia home. Eric gets sick and is taken to Intensive Care.
Greg asks Laura to marry him. She says she will consider it. Greg fires Peter. Eric is very sick with arsenic poisoning. Abby finds out that Galveston dumped acid and arsenic in Empire Valley. She offers to sell Empire Valley to Greg, but he doesn't buy it, suspicious she wants to sell it so fast. Peter's mad at Sylvia for telling Abby everything. Sylvia says she deserves the money, as she really had Galveston's baby. Peter says he has done all the work and threatens Sylvia. Abby tells Peter she wants 51% of whatever money he gets or she will tell Greg that he's not Sylvia's son. When Jill finds out Gary gave Empire Valley to Abby, she agrees to work with Peter to get it from Abby. Gary calls Jill, but she ignores him. Jill tells Peter that she want out of the plan, because she's fallen in love with Gary and doesn't want to hurt him. Peter reminds her that Galveston killed their parents, and that they've come too far to turn back now.
Ben's really upset about Cathy leaving. He tells her that he isn't the twins' father. He goes to the beach house with a gift for her and they make out. Val is worried because she feels Ben slipping away from her. Jill tells Gary that she can't see him because she's in love with him, but doesn't want to be. Peter apologizes to Sylvia for his threats. Mack finds out that the reservoir at Lotus Point is loaded with arsenic. Abby admits that Galveston dumped arsenic at Empire Valley. Greg tells Laura that Galveston left Gary the land because he knew it was polluted, but he wants to buy it anyway, because he hates to lose. Everyone argues over who is responsible for cleaning up Empire Valley. Gary thinks Greg should, as Galveston dumped the chemicals. Greg thinks Gary should, as his explosion started the leak.
Greg takes Laura to Las Vegas to get married at the Wedding Chapel of Joy. She's reluctant, but he tells her how much he loves and needs her. Later, Karen and ask Laura if there's anything she can do to get Greg to help with the cleanup of Lotus Point, and Laura remarks that a wife should have some influence over her husband. Abby's taken aback. Laura asks Greg to clean up Empire Valley for her wedding present. Greg tells Karen that he will clean up Empire Valley in four months if she will get him all of Empire Valley back, or she can kiss Lotus Point goodbye. Eric comes home from the hospital. Jill again tells Peter that she wants out, and that she doesn't care about Empire Valley anymore, she just wants to stop lying to Gary. Ben and Cathy sleep together. Cathy tells Ben she doesn't want to leave him. Ben feels guilty, but Cathy says he should let himself feel happiness instead of always putting other's first. Val invites Cathy over for a goodbye dinner.
Abby wants Karen to take Greg's deal. Gary and Karen try to figure out a way to clean up Empire Valley themselves. They turn to the EPA, Senator Henderson, and even try to get a loan, but nothing works out. Abby tells Gary that Jill's family owned Empire Valley, and that she's only with Gary because she wants Empire Valley back. Later Jill admits to Gary that when she first went out with him, she wanted Empire Valley, but then she fell in love with him. He coolly asks her "Is that it?" Senator Henderson is retiring, and Greg thinks Peter should be the next Senator. The Lotus Point groundskeeper dies of arsenic poisoning, and several people cancel their reservations. Karen decides to close Lotus Point. Val tells Ben that she senses something is wrong, and she'd like to work through it with him. He says he has a lot on his mind. Cathy asks Ben to go on the road with her and be her manager.
Gary offers to take back Empire Valley from the twins. He then agrees to sell it to Greg if he will guarantee the cleanup. Greg tells Laura that he wants Peter in politics, because then he will be back in politics. Peter's resistant, so Greg says if he will run, he will publicly acknowledge him as his brother and give him a big settlement. Greg also stops Sylvia's monthly check. Abby also tells Peter to accept Greg's offer, and she sleeps with him. Mack is worried when Karen misses lunch and he can't locate her. Ben tells Cathy he will go on tour with her, and Cathy is excited. He tells Val, who is stunned. Val tries to talk him out of it, and is scared he is leaving her. Ben assures her it is only for 6 weeks, and he really needs the time away to think about things. Lilimae is angry at Cathy and slaps her. Ben leaves. Paige Matheson shows up at the MacKenzies' house. When Mack gets home, she says, "I've wanted to meet you for a long time. I'm your daughter."
Paige tells Mack that her mother died a year ago. Karen has gone missing. Mack suspects foul play.
Karen's kidnapper, Phil Harbert, brings her to a guestroom in his home. He's laden it with food and new clothes for Karen, telling her he wants her to be comfortable. He tells Karen she hasn't been kidnapped, she's just disappeared. Greg uses the cleanup of Empire Valley as publicity for Peter. Greg tells him that he won't really clean it up until Lotus Point goes bankrupt. Peter tells Jill, who tells Gary.Val is overjoyed when Ben comes home. Later Ben receives a note from his old friend Jean Hackney to meet her. He goes to her boutique, which is a cover from underground activities. She asks him to spy on Greg, and kisses him. He tells her he no longer can do either activity.
Phil makes Karen cut her hair because he likes short hair better. Ben refuses to spy for Jean. The arsenic levels at Lotus Point are rising. Gary decides to run for the senate himself, against Peter. He thinks that this will pressure Greg to really clean up Empire Valley. Jill agrees to be Gary's campaign manager, which angers Peter. Jill tells Peter that only Gary is important to her now. Mack breaks down to Val over Karen, and Val comforts him.
Jean calls Ben and he tells her never to call him at home. Ben poses Val a hypothetical question: Should he do a report on a man who was once in a subversive group that bombed a building, but had gotten out and was now a responsible man with a family? Val says no, as it would hurt his family. Abby shows up at a speech that Gary gives, and tells Jill that she will be with Gary morning, noon and night. However, she gives Peter copies of Gary's speeches and schedule. Phil tells Karen that he wants Mac to feel what it's like not to know where his wife is. Phil says that Mac sent him to jail and he didn't know what was happening to his wife, and then she died. He says he'll let Karen go in a year. Greg decides to really clean up Empire Valley. Phil stops by to see Greg. Greg excitedly tells Laura that he's a good friend from law school.
In a flashback to 1967, Mack tells Phil that the firm for which he is working is involved with the mob, but Phil says he has a wife to support. Later Phil is indicted, and asks Mack to lie on the stand, but Mack says he can't. In the present, the polls begin to shift in Gary's favor. Peter decides to use married Gary's affair with Jill against him, although they've decided to hold off until after the election. Mack has a phony story released that they found the kidnapper's fingerprints and know who he is. This makes Phil very nervous, and Greg figures out that he is the kidnapper. Greg confronts him and gives him one day to undo the situation. Phil pours gasoline all over the house and lights a match. As the house starts to go up in flames, Karen discovers a trap door to the attic.
News of Gary and Jill's affair hits the papers. Abby's furious, and has a little talk with Peter. At a debate, Peter makes it clear that Gary's personal life is not an issue. Gary and Jill resume their affair. Greg has Phil's license plate traced to an address in Dillon, CA, and drives there. Jean keeps trying to call Ben, and he keeps hanging up on her. Karen escapes the burning house. Phil sees her on the road and tries to run her down. She escapes into the woods and eventually comes across a vacant house. She breaks in, but Phil finds her. She throws a bucket of ammonia in his face and runs out back to the barn. He is breaking down the barn door when Greg shows up and stops him. Greg says he'll let him go for old times sake, as long as he goes back east and never gets involved in their lives again. Karen is confused when she hears two cars leave. Police tell Mack that they received a tip about where Karen is. Mack and Karen run into each other's arms, and he brings her home.
Abby, Olivia and Brian move back to the ranch to help out Gary's family image. Gary catches Abby in bed with Peter, but doesn't care. Olivia smokes pot and is suspended from school and steals Abby's car. She's is in a minor accident and picked up for driving without a license. Gary gets her, and misses a debate. Mack tells Karen about Paige and they invite her to dinner. Roses are delivered from Phil with a card that says "You won't get away next time." Greg changes his tires and gives Phil's name to police, saying he recognized him from the police sketch. They show his picture to Karen, who IDs him. Mack is shocked. Seeing his picture on TV, Phil shows up at Greg's office and says that police think 2 people were in on the kidnapping, and he'll tell police that Greg hired him unless he will help him get out of the country.
Mack thinks Greg has something to do with Karen's kidnapping. Greg puts Phil up in a motel until he can make arrangements to send him to Hong Kong. They agree to meet the next morning. Phil orders a pizza. The delivery boy recognized him from TV and calls Mack. Michael is uncomfortable with his attraction to Paige, but they begin to kiss. Jean introduces herself to Val as an old college friend of Ben's, and Val invites her to dinner. Ben tells Jean to leave him alone or he'll expose her on TV. While grocery shopping, Ben loses Bobby and later finds him with Jean. Scared, he goes along with her and supports Peter on TV. Abby is furious, but tells Peter it was her idea. Peter wins the election.
Police go to Phil's motel, but he's across the street, and people yell to the police where he is. Phil runs into the street, and is hit by a car. At the hospital, Phil tells Mack that Greg was behind the kidnapping, but Mack knows that he's lying. Phil dies. Peter is upset with Sylvia's drinking, because she talks too much. Sylvia says she wants Peter to get money from Abby for her, or she will tell a tabloid the truth, because she doesn't care who pays her as long as she gets money. Lotus Point has a grand re-opening. Paige spots Peter, and is definitely interested in him. Sylvia makes a drunken spectacle of herself. She has a "spell" and asks Peter to pick up a refill of her prescription. The pharmacist tells Peter that if Sylvia takes too many pills, it will cause cardiac arrest so Peter purposely gives her too many. Both Greg and Abby pressure Peter to join certain committees, but he stands up to each of them and refuses.
Peter continues to add extra pills to Sylvia's medical dish. Peter tells pharmacist he needs more pills because Sylvia dropped them down the sink. Then Peter feels guilty and flushes the extra pills. A studio options "Capricorn Crude" and wants Val to write the script. Eric walks in on Michael and Paige sleeping together. He's furious about what that would do to Mack and Karen. He and Michael have a physical fight, and trash the room, but won't tell Karen what it's about. Paige can't pay her hotel bill and moves in with the MacKenzies. The hotel calls and says Paige's check bounced, and Karen wonders why she pretends to have a lot of money. Ben tells Val he doesn't like Jean and not to be friends with her. Jean tells her lover that Ben's real assignment is to kill Greg.
Jean scratches Greg's car in order to meet him, and later comes on to him. Mack tells Paige he can come to her if she needs money. Paige pawns some jewelry. Peter can't find Sylvia, and calls Jill over to Sylvia's. Peter tells Jill about the pills, and she's angry that he's gone too far. Ben, who was going to interview Sylvia, stops by and is suspicious about Jill being there. Sylvia shows up at the ranch telling Abby that Peter tried to kill her. Peter denies it, but Sylvia says she's staying at the ranch until Abby finds her new accommodation. Gary and Abby sleep together, but he tells her that sex isn't enough anymore. Jill won't tell Gary what her relationship to Peter is, so he gives her an ultimatum. Jill tells Peter that she's going to tell Gary he's her brother, and Peter flips out. They argue, and Jill accidentally falls over the side of a cliff.
Abby suggests Sylvia have an attorney draw up a letter with the truth about Peter, to be released to the public if anything happens to her. The attorney then gives the letter to Abby. Sylvia gives another copy to Olivia. Karen walks in on Michael and Paige cuddled up asleep, and tells Mack that they're sleeping together. Ben and Mack try to figure out the link between Peter, Jill, Abby and Sylvia.After Jill falls off cliff, Peter calls 911. At the hospital, Gary apologizes to Jill for his ultimatum. Peter tells Mack and Ben he used to date Jill, but now they're good friends. Gary tells Abby that he loves Jill. Something goes wrong, and a code blue is called for Jill. Abby and Gary overhear a doctor saying that Jill is pregnant. Jean tells Ben to report that Peter was seen with Jill before the accident. Another man tells Ben he saw Jill fall off the cliff and that Peter was with her.
Mack and Karen confront Paige and Michael separately. Paige agrees to stop the affair, but Michael maintains they are in love. Sylvia tells Peter about the letter she gave to her attorney. The producer tells Val that they need the first draft of her script in a few days, so she hires a personal secretary. Ben is afraid he has ties to Jean. Jean tells Ben that if they bury Peter in the media, she'll get out of his life. Ben and Mack question the witness, Paul Kelly. They find holes in his story and Ben figures he is working for Jean and confronts her. Greg thinks someone is trying to ruin Peter's career, and tells Peter that he and Jill's story better match when she wakes up. Jill loses the baby. Jill wakes up and Gary is mad that she requests to see Peter instead of him.
Greg makes out a will for Peter with him as the beneficiary. Abby brings Sylvia to stay with the Sumners. Jill tells Peter that she'll cover for him, but their relationship is over. Paige rejects Michael and he takes it out on Karen. Paige agrees to go to a movie with him as "friends", but stands him up when Peter asks her out. Peter cancels a date with Abby to meet Paige. Jean gives Ben cash for his "services." Lilimae finds it while doing laundry and shows Val. Ben tells her it's the office pool. Val's worried about Ben's strange behavior. Greg offers Ben a job. He doesn't want to take it, but does when Jean threatens his family. Karen finds a letter that Anne wrote to Mack about Paige's birth, but they suspect Paige wrote it herself, and wonder if she's lying about anything else. In a cemetery, there is a tombstone that says "Paige Matheson, 1967-1985."
Ben gives Abby his resignation. Greg tells him his job is to keep Peter's nose clean. Peter tells Ben that he is not Greg's puppet. Jean's lover asks her what Ben will do if he finds that she is no longer with the CIA. Michael is jealous when he sees Paige fawning over Peter at the Lotus Point Christmas Party and at the mall. He blames Karen. Abby shows up at Peter's nude under a fur coat. Karen leaves a message for Paige's grandparents, the Winstons. When Karen tells Paige, she flips out and says her grandparents hate her because they hated Mack. Mr. Winston calls Karen and says that she's sick, because Paige is dead. Laura tells Greg she is pregnant, and he's not happy. Olivia buys some drugs, and then Abby and Gary give her a sports car for Christmas. Olivia takes Lilimae for a ride, and they get into an accident.
Gary goes to Jill's to get her some clothes. He sees her yearbook where her name is Dorothy Simpkins, and pictures of Peter which refer to her as "sis." Home, Jill asks Gary to marry her, but he says he needs to get to know her better. Lilimae gives Abby a packet of cocaine that she found in Olivia's car. Abby searches Olivia's room as Olivia is in the barn snorting coke. Abby follows Olivia and sees her buying drugs. Abby grabs her purse and dumps out the drugs. Greg wants Laura to have an abortion. Paige tells Mack and Karen that she faked her death to get away from her grandparents. They are not sure if they believe her. Karen researches and finds an obituary saying Paige died in a boating accident. Mack decides to call the Winston's, and Mr. Winston tells him to stop calling because it upsets Anne. Mack is surprised to hear that Anne is alive.
Mr. Winston flies into town and confirms that Paige really is his granddaughter. Paige is upset to see him. Karen convinces Mack that he needs to fly to New York and tell Anne that Paige is alive. Paige cooks a romantic dinner for Peter.Jill admits to Gary that Peter is her brother. Gary thinks she means she is Galveston's daughter. Gary asks Jill to marry him. Abby demands Olivia give her all of her drug paraphernalia, but Olivia gives her baking soda. Gary invites her to AA, but Olivia refuses. Gary tells Abby they'll have to wait until she hits bottom. Abby finds out that Olivia has drained her and Brian's bank account, has been skipping school, is failing all of her classes, and didn't pay her tuition. Out of money, Olivia decides to sell drugs, and her dealer hits her when she uses them instead. Abby takes Olivia's house and car keys and puts her under house arrest.
Mack flies to New York to see Anne. Under house arrest, Olivia sneaks out and does drugs in the barn. Olivia locks herself in the bathroom, so Abby chops the door down and finds drugs which Olivia tried to flush. Olivia makes calls, and tells Brian that her friends will bring her homework to his school. Abby catches Olivia stealing money from her purse, and they fight. Olivia trashes Abby's room, and Abby has to restrain her. Olivia gives Brian an envelope and tells him it's her homework to give to her friends. Lilimae brings Brian to school, but comes back with Olivia's "homework." It is actually money. Upset, Olivia says she had to give it to Brian, or her friends would beat him up. Abby rushes to Brian's school, but he's already been beaten up. Abby brings him home and forces Olivia to face her bruised and bloodied brother. Upset, Olivia runs to the chicken coop and gives Abby all of her drugs and apologises for all the trouble that she has caused.
Paige tells Karen that she'd better worry about Anne's intentions towards Mack. She then packs and goes to stay with Peter. Anne tells Mack that he's the only man she ever loved, but didn't tell him she was pregnant, because she found out her father paid him $5,000 to leave her. Mack says that isn't true. She says she's afraid she'll fall in love with Mack again. Karen is jealous of Anne's looks, and they talk uncomfortably while waiting for Paige. Anne says Paige did this to bring her and Mack back together and she is snide to Karen. Olivia goes to AA with Gary, and apologises to Brian. Abby still wants to postpone the divorce, but Gary says no. Jean has Ben bug Greg's office. They hear Peter ask Greg where he sent Sylvia on vacation, but Greg won't tell him. Jean then calls and says that she wants Ben to break into Greg's computer.
Seeing Anne's immature behavior, Karen feels sorry for Paige and wants her to stay with them. Anne wants Paige to come back to New York and threatens to cut her off financially. Peter tells Paige that it isn't good for his image to live with someone, so she moves back to the MacKenzies. Anne says she'll stay until Paige agrees to leave with her. Greg finds the bug in his office, and suspects that someone has hooked up to his computer. He makes phony deals, and tells Ben about it. Ben tells Jean, who's upset because she fell for it. Abby tells Gary she will fight for the ranch unless he gives her $3 million so Gary gives her the money. Ben tells Val that no matter what happens, to always remember he loves her. Jean tells Ben that his new assignment is to kill Greg.
Paige accepts a job at Lotus Point. Anne asks Karen to arrange for her to live at Lotus Point. Greg and Laura disagree about her having the baby, so she moves back to the cul-de-sac. Abby opens a nightclub at Lotus Point. Peter asks Abby to the opening, but tells Paige it is only for PR purposes. Ben refuses to kill Greg, and Jean says she'll kill his family. After someone tries to run Val off the road, Ben tells her that he was part of a subversive group that bombed a building and an innocent man was killed. Ben says they want him to kill Greg. Ben and Val decide to run away. Val won't tell Lilimae what is up. Ben is being followed, and steals a car to lose them. Val, Lilimae, and the kids follow Ben's plan to meet him secretly. As they drive away, Jean pulls up next to them in her car.
Jean catches the Gibsons, and they know that their house is bugged. She instructs Ben to kill Greg at the Lotus Point Club Opening. At the opening, Greg and Laura make up. He says he's happy about the baby. Anne hangs all over Mack at the party, and Karen pretends not to mind. Mack is amused at Karen's jealousy. Ben tells Val that they'll escape in a catering truck after the party. Jean tells Ben that if he doesn't kill Greg, she has people at the party who will kill Val. Ben says the time isn't right, so Jean tells him to make an opportunity. Gary and Jill tell Val that they're getting married and Val runs off crying. Ben confronts Greg in his office and pulls out a gun. He tells Greg to help him find a way out of this, because if he doesn't kill him, they'll kill his family. Jean listens in on the bug. Ben can't bring himself to kill Greg, but then a shot rings out.
Val, Lilimae and the kids are brought home in a catering van. Val is frantic about Ben. Mack hires bodyguards posing as construction workers to protect Val and instructs Val to say that Ben is on a business trip. Lilimae asks Karen if she knows what's going on as Ben had her close her bank account, they drove around in a stolen car, then in a catering van all night, and now there are two carpenters at the house who aren't doing anything. Karen asks both Mack and Val what is going on, but neither will tell her anything. Greg's death is in the paper. Abby rushes to Peter's and says he'd better be prepared to take over Galveston Industries and pressures him to make a public statement. Gary and Jill had planned to marry in Las Vegas, but he postpones it. Val goes to the ranch to comfort Laura. Greg suddenly walks in and Val suddenly wonders if Ben is dead.
Jean's superior tells her she needs to kill Greg. Mack, Greg and an agent find out that Jean and her associate are trying to kill Greg. Mack punches out Jean's superior, and he's arrested. Not knowing he's on to her, Jean invites Greg to her hotel room. Greg says he knows what she's up to and pulls a gun. Mack and the agent come in and arrest her. Mack explains to Karen that he couldn't tell Val that Ben was alive, because she would give it away. Val, hysterical about Ben, tries to buy a gun. Unsuccessful, she goes to the ranch and takes Gary's gun. Val breaks into Jean's store, and almost shoots a cleaning woman by accident. Gary finds her and brings her home. Ben walks in and they hug and kiss and cry. That night Ben dreams that Jean kills Val. Abby tells Jill, "Let the second Mrs. Ewing give the soon to be third Mrs. Ewing some advice. The first Mrs. Ewing doesn't go away - ever!" Gary and Jill decide to get married some other time.
Ben is upset that Greg sent Jean to Paraguay instead of pressing charges. He is ultra paranoid and thinks he sees Jean everywhere. Greg fires Ben. Jill questions Gary about whether she comes first in his life. Olivia joins Peter's Youth Commission against drugs. She admits to Paige she has a huge crush on Peter.Abby and Paige vie for Peter's affection. To win his affection, Paige tells Peter that Sylvia gave Olivia a letter, and that he can use Olivia's crush on him to get the letter back. Peter sends Olivia flowers, thanking her for her help. Anne rents Laura's house, and hangs out at the MacKenzies'. Karen doesn't like this, and tells Anne to stop coming on to Mack because she doesn't stand a chance. Anne sends herself a package, but has is delivered to the MacKenzies. When Mack brings it over, she tells him she wants him to stay and get reacquainted.
Laura's furious with Val over the whole incident, and even quits Lotus Point so she won't run into her there. Ben is still paranoid, and wants the family to go into hiding, but Val says that is no life for the twins. Ben has an elaborate security system installed. Lilimae accidentally sets it off, and Ben, thinking she's Jean, gets her in a choke hold. Peter appoints Olivia as his youth advisor. He tells her she is prettier than Abby, and asks if she's heard from Sylvia. Anne and Mack discuss old times, and she tells him that she still loves him. Karen and Mack argue over Anne. Karen tells him to tell Anne to leave. Mack tells Anne that he loves Karen and will never leave her. Anne asks Mack to meet her for a goodbye breakfast. Anne then takes a bunch of pills. Mack decides to eat breakfast with Karen instead of meeting Anne. Anne is passed out on her living room floor.
Anne lies unconscious. Mack phones to cancel their breakfast but gets no answer. Paige tells Peter that Olivia is in love with him. Ben gets Mack to burgle his house to demonstrate a new alarm system to Lilimae and Val. Mack visits Anne and sees her unconscious through the window when she doesn't answer the door. He smashes the window and gets her to hospital. Peter has dinner with Abby, Olivia and Brian then sleeps with Abby. Ben gets furious when Lilimae turns the alarms off and doesn't reactivate them. Mack doesn't know what to do about Anne. Olivia tells Michael about Peter. He warns her off, she won't listen. Greg informs Peter of Sylvia's death. Michael tells Karen about Olivia and Peter and Karen tries to warn Abby. Gary and Jill discover Peter at the airport picking up Sylvia's remains. Olivia and Peter exchange gifts and a kiss.
Peter pressures Olivia for the letter. Abby sees them kissing and is furious. Greg tells Abby that he is only after Olivia's letter. Olivia stops by Peter's, but when she sees Paige there, she sends the letter to Gary. Ben, thinking Val is Jean, freaks out. She thinks he is hallucinating from lack of sleep. Home again, Anne milks Mack's guilt over her suicide attempt. Anne tells Karen on the phone that she did it to bring Mack to his senses, that Mack is only with Karen out of obligation, and will never be happy in their little tract house on a dead end street with its barbecues and "Kiss the Cook" aprons. Mack overhears this. Mack invites Anne to dinner. He puts on his "Kiss the Cook" apron, and barbecues, while telling Karen how much he loves their life and home. Ann yells at him for insulting her. He yells that she insulted Karen. He says that he loves Karen, and not her. Furious, Anne tells him that he is not Paige's father - Greg is.
Abby asks Gary not to read the letter Olivia sent him, he agrees. Laura gives birth to a baby girl. Greg tells Mack he is not Paige's father. Peter tells Abby he wants to marry her, not Paige. Abby tells him to ditch Paige, which he does but then Abby ditches him. Ben thanks Gary for stepping aside regarding the twins. Jill intercepts Gary's mail from Olivia and burns it. Mack tells Paige that he's not her father and that Greg is. She cries and says Anne was just being vindictive, but thinks that Peter must have known, which was why he broke it off with her. Ben leaves for an assignment in South America.
Laura and Greg name their baby Meg. Greg tells Paige that he isn't her father. Abby fires Paige but Karen rehires her. Ben phones Val and tells her that he'll keep in touch with her as he's on the move. Greg tells Peter to settle down with someone. Peter thanks Jill for burning Sylvia's letter but she throws him out. Val phones Ben's news service who have no listing of him. Olivia confronts Paige about Peter, but Paige tells her about Peter and Abby. Olivia shouts at Abby about her involvement with Peter. Now enemies, Paige and Abby have a confrontation. Paige and Peter argue at Lotus Point and she throws plates at him. After vigorously washing her hands, Abby comes out of the bathroom at Lotus Point to find Olivia leaning over Peter's dead body. They look at each other questioningly.
Abby tells Olivia to go home, change clothes and act normal. Abby frantically hides Peter's body. Olivia is distraught and goes to see Gary but won't tell him anything. Val is certain Ben will never come back home. Abby buries Peter's body at Lotus Point where a children's playground is about to be built. She notices Peter's car and takes it to the airport where she leaves it. Gary questions Abby about Olivia's behaviour. Mack tells Paige that he called Anne and she admitted that he is her father but Paige remains unsure. The following day, the cement foundation gets poured over Peter's body, but Abby's relief turns to horror when Karen later points out a large crack in the cement which may mean it has to be dug up.
People wonder where Peter has got to. Val is distraught when she doesn't hear from Ben but she makes amends with Laura. Greg kisses Paige to prove he isn't her father. Experts say the crack at the Lotus Point playground is a structural problem and they'll have to replace the concrete. Abby objects but is overruled by Karen and Gary. Val tells Lilimae she isn't sure Ben will be coming back. Mack and Paige discover that they are both allergic to cantaloupe so he must be her father. The cement is dug up and Peter's body is discovered.
Karen closes Lotus Point for a few days. Gary tells Jill about Peter's body being found. Mack offers Jill the chance to be involved in the investigation. Greg wants to know if Abby is going to inherit anything from Peter. A detective begins questioning everyone about their involvement with Peter. The police find Olivia's locket on Peter's body, but don't know who the initials "OC" belong to. A memorial service for Peter is held. Gary overhears Olivia telling Abby that she doesn't want to go to the service. Gary tells Abby he knows that Olivia killed Peter. She slaps him and leaves with Olivia.
The police decide to talk to Olivia. Greg tells Abby he will see that she's convicted for Peter's murder rather than have her inherit what's his. Olivia turns up at Val's avoiding the police. Karen tells Val to phone Gary but she gets no answer when she does. Mack is suspicious of Paige's phone calls to Peter the day he died. Olivia talks to the police. Mack lets an elderly man named Al use his office but he invites loads of homeless people to stay in it. The police get fibres from Olivia's jumper and arrest her, but Abby tells the police that she killed Peter, not Olivia.
Abby tells the police that Peter's death was an accident. The police take both Abby and Olivia in for questioning. Olivia and Brian stay with Karen. Abby gets out on bail. Paige is having nightmares. Gary finally gets Olivia to admit that she thinks Abby killed Peter. Gary talks to Abby and then Mack. Abby and Olivia talk and realise that they both thought each other had killed Peter. Mack suspects Paige. He asks her to tell him what really happened the day Peter died.
Paige is revealed as Peter's killer. She tells Mack that his death was an accident. Abby retracts her confession. Jill tells Gary she can't handle his relationships with his ex-wives any more. Val buys a sports car. The police decide not to prosecute Paige. Val argues with Gary about the twins. Abby tells Greg that he'll need to pay her what Peter owed her. Mack wants Paige to apologise to everyone for what she put them through over Peter's death. Greg tells Paige she's lucky Mack is her father and not him. Laura tells Karen she is resigning from Lotus Point. Paige tells Abby she's sorry that Abby ever got off the murder charge and that none of it would've happened if Abby hadn't made Peter break up with her. Abby tells Paige that she put her and Olivia through a lot of trouble over it and sooner or later she'll make her pay for it. Laura suggests to Greg that she may not have much time left to worry about things.
Laura tells Greg she has an inoperable brain tumour. He takes her from doctor to doctor looking for a different diagnosis. Laura tells him she's not seeing any more specialists. Greg says he's not going to Meg's christening because he's seen his last church. People hold a farewell party for Laura at Lotus Point. Greg visits a doctor Laura refused to see. His car gets towed away and he wanders the streets. Meg gets christened while Greg sits in his car. He eventually goes into the church. Laura decides to go to a clinic alone, Greg says she's going there to die without him and it isn't being fair to him. She says she doesn't want him to see her die. She phones Karen to say goodbye and gives Meg to Greg and leaves for the clinic alone.
Gary is upset when he discovers Val is holding a birthday party for the twins and didn't tell him. Gary tells Val that the twins can call him "uncle" as long as he can see them, but she refuses. Greg interviews prospective nannies for Meg but tells them the position is temporary until Meg's mother gets back. Gary tells Lilimae that he is the twins father. Val tells Lilimae that Gary is unreliable and she doesn't need any help to raise them. Michael rescues a drowning girl at the beach. Lilimae takes the twins to see Gary in the park. Al and Lilimae become friends. She discovers that he lives in his car.
Abby's first love Charles Scott shows up to book a convention at Lotus Point. Karen and Abby have recollections of Charles. Michael takes Jody (who he saved at the beach) home to meet Karen and Mack. Eric returns with his new wife, Linda. Val lets Gary see the kids. They kiss afterwards. Abby has dinner with Charles. They tell each other what they've been up to since they were together.
Al asks Lilimae to marry him. Lilimae says that they should live together but not get married. They eventually drive off together. Greg receives word that Laura has died.
Everyone gathers at Greg's after Laura's death including Richard Avery. When Richard discovers that nobody went to the clinic with Laura when she was dying, he takes his anger out on the others. Gary tells Val that he respected how Laura turned her life around. Val argues with Karen about how Karen didn't tell her Laura was dying. Richard wants to know why Greg keeps Peter's ashes on the coffee table. Greg says he always wanted to be the centre of attention. Laura's remains are sent to the wrong mortuary. Mack says Laura is determined not to come back. Everybody laughs. Mack helps Greg pick out a casket for Laura.
After Laura's funeral, everyone goes to Greg's. Mac is belligerent and snide. He spends all his time with Meg. Karen overhears him tell Gary that he's a father who never got to raise his kids. Richard tells Karen that Laura emasculated him, but he's matured a lot since then. Jill's upset that Gary is taking care of fragile Val. Jill starts to drink heavily and gets drunk. She tells Val that she lost her family and wants to help with the twins. She steals Peter's ashes and puts them in her purse. Jill then drunkenly goes up to Paige and asks her how she can sleep at night. Jill whacks Paige in the back with her purse. Everyone watches Laura's videos and cry their eyes out. Val and Karen cry and make up. Greg watches his video of Laura by himself, and sobs. He asks how she could leave him all alone, because he loves her. On the way home, Jill scatters Peter's ashes off a mountainside. On tape, Laura reads "Goodnight Moon" to Meg.
Gary and Val sleep together. Greg discovers Paige is the assistant at the art gallery. Gary tells Jill that he doesn't love her. Jill blames Val and tells her that she's leaving Gary. Charles and Abby avoid phoning each other, then he shows up at Abby's home with a gift when she is out and Olivia invites him to stay for dinner. Val throws Gary out. Abby tells Charles that she can't accept a gift from him, but he asks for a second chance. Jill leaves Gary but later returns. Mack and Karen plan a trip to Tahiti until Greg turns up looking for a babysitter for Meg. Charles takes Abby for a drive, they end up sleeping together.
Greg phones Mack from home whilst pretending to be in New York. Mack and Karen suffer sleepless nights with Meg crying. A devious Irishman named Johnny Rourke heads to Knots Landing to see his former girlfriend Paige. Paige delivers Greg's painting and questions why he isn't in New York like he told Mack and Karen. He replies "I am in New York." Val tells Gary they should just be ex-husband and wife. Jill tells Gary that she told Val that he's a free man and that Val must not want him any more if she doesn't want to see him. Charles' wife phones and he decides he has to go back home and leave Abby. A woman named Patricia Williams and her 12-year-old daughter Julie move into Laura's old house. Greg phones Karen to say he has been held up in New York. Johnny buys a gun in a bar. Charles returns to Abby and tells her he loves her.
Johnny asks Paige for $20,000 to keep her secrets but she tells him she no longer has any secrets from her family and tells him to clear off. Johnny introduces himself to Mack as Paige's old boyfriend, and Mack invites him to stay. Charles introduces his wife Judith to Abby when she unexpectedly arrives. Meg starts having convulsions but Patricia quickly diagnoses the problem and helps get them to hospital in time. Mack wonders how she knew what to do, but she says the same thing happened to her own daughter. Paige gets hold of Greg when Mack can't and Greg joins Mack at the hospital. Johnny lands a job as musician at the local bar. Judith tells Abby that Charles will always come back to her. Meg's convulsions were caused by an ear infection and she recovers. Greg overhears Mack and Karen noticing Meg's first word is "Mack." Charles asks Abby to marry him.
Meg returns home with Greg. Abby tells Charles that it isn't legal to have two wives at once and tells him to come back when he's told Judith he's divorcing her. Val and Gary argue about the twins. Johnny notices someone, whom he recognises from the bar, acting strangely and breaks into his cabin at Lotus Point and finds a fridge full of money. He takes some and escapes out the back door. He later returns the money and asks the man for a job. Jill tells Gary that he doesn't have to see the twins on Val's terms as she is a lawyer and can help him. Charles tells Judith that he intends to marry Abby and Abby accepts his proposal. Greg brings Meg back to stay with Karen and Mack after Mack told Karen they would not look after her again. Mack is very pleased to have her back much to Karen's surprise.
Karen invites the Williamses (now including Pat's husband Frank) to dinner. Judith suggests Charles postpone their divorce until after their joint business successfully concludes. Abby conspires with Greg disrupt their venture. Val refuses Gary's request to legally acknowledge him as the twins' father. Frank is alarmed to learn Mack is an investigator, and Mack assumes Frank is a cop. Judith secretly records Abby and Greg discussing their scheme and threatens to report them to FCC for insider trading, but Charles ends up giving the tape to Abby. A paranoid Frank destroys his couch when it is delivered a day late. Michael tells Jody he doesn't love her.
Olivia is upset when she learns Charles is married and accuses Abby of breaking up his marriage. Frank and Pat scold Julie for allowing herself to be photographed for school pictures. Frank later breaks into the school, steals Julie's pictures, and burns them. Jill and Gary summon Karen for a deposition. Val asks Karen to lie and say she has no knowledge of the twins' biological father. Johnny is attacked after he carries out a mission for his employer. The man Johnny's working for later kills a young woman who mistakenly entered Johnny's room and saw the man with a gun and stacks of money. Paige has a drunken rendezvous with Johnny after Greg shows no interest in her. Karen reveals in the deposition that Gary is the twins' biological father.
Karen becomes suspicious of the Williamses when Pat is at first reluctant to be interviewed by the local newspaper and then later learns that although Pat and Frank consented to the interview, they refused to have their picture taken. Val stubbornly refuses to recant her deposition testimony and acknowledge Gary is the twins' father. She later changes her mind. Charles suggests to Abby that Lotus Point expand the marina and even offers to provide the investment capital for the project. Abby is shocked to learn later that Charles drafted plans for the marina expansion five months earlier. A man named Manny Vasquez and his nephew Harold are both pleased that Charles is making progress on their "plan" for Lotus Point. Charles convinces Olivia that Abby did not break up his marriage. Abby hires a PI to investigate Charles' business dealings and finances. Mack and Karen observe Pat leaving late at night with a woman.
When Mack casually asks Frank about Pat's whereabouts, Frank berates him for spying. Abby's PI can't find a reason for Charles' interest in Lotus Point. Manny wants the marina completed sooner than Charles has intended. Frank continues to be jumpy and suspicious. Charles offers to give Abby the $2 million needed to complete the marina rather than loan it. Greg has no comment when Paige questions his lack of interest in Meg. Abby and Charles are married in Vegas. Pat returns home and discusses her discomfort at testifying. It is revealed that the family is in the Witness Security Program (WSP). Frank loses his job and explodes at Pat, blaming her impending testimony for destroying their lives. When Frank's suspicions about Mack has the WPP ready to move the family again, Pat refuses. Abby has her marriage to Charles annulled. Manny tells Charles to accept Abby's terms in the annulment. Harold tells Johnny's employer "we're in business."
Olivia berates Abby for breaking up with Charles. Abby moves forward with the marina expansion, offering to loan Lotus Point the $2 million needed. Barbara, Meg's nanny, tells Greg that she is resigning because with Meg at the MacKenzies, she has nothing to do. Greg goes to the MacKenzies and takes Meg back, prompting Mack to criticize his lack of concern for his daughter. Val's lawyer assures her Gary's case will be dismissed. Karen tells Gary she thinks he should be able to see his children. Val accuses Jill of putting Gary up to his custody case in a desperate attempt to keep him. While Johnny pushes for more "quality time" with Paige, she is insistent that it remain casual. Val apologizes to Gary and allows him access to the twins after she hears Mack's fear that his access to Meg will always be dependent on Greg's whims. Karen asks Greg to leave Meg with her and Mack. Greg eventually consents, saying that he's doing it for Laura and for Meg.
Gary becomes a silent partner in Lotus Point. Harold meets Olivia and takes her out for pizza, to Manny's delight. Harold is surprised to learn Olivia is Abby's daughter. Abby refuses to allow Olivia to continue seeing Harold until she has met him. Manny accompanies Harold to meet with Abby and Olivia and tells Abby he rents yachts. Abby later introduces him to Karen, saying that she believes he can do business with Lotus Point. Mack is surprised that Karen went to Greg and asked him to let them keep Meg. Val apologizes to Karen for her behavior during the conflict with Gary. When Paige is mistaken for Greg's date, he makes it clear that she's too young to be his date. Later, Paige ensures that Greg sees her and Johnny kissing. Jill's plans for a romantic rendezvous with Gary are interrupted by Val and the twins. Separately, Paige and Johnny inquire about "mercurial" Greg from Mack, Karen, and Michael. Johnny shows up to Greg's and ends up getting thrown off one of Greg's horses. Jill uses alcohol to keep her company while Gary spends more time with the twins. After Greg hires Paige to acquire art for him, she pulls away from Johnny.
In front of the neighbors and kids, Frank pistol whips a construction worker who accidentally breaks their window. Mack reports Frank to the police, but the police decline to act once a "friend" of the family (the WSP contact) shows up. Abby expresses concern that Harold is too old for Olivia and that she does not know enough about him. Harold takes a bracelet from one of Manny's debtors and later gives the bracelet to Olivia. Olivia admits to Harold that she had a drug problem. Frank overhears Julie blaming him for Val changing her mind about letting her babysit. With the twins sleeping over, Gary tells Jill that they should not sleep in the same bed since they are unmarried. Pat leaves to give her final testimony. Her testimony reveals that she is a neurologist who has accused an older colleague of dealing drugs. She tearfully explains the effect her decision to testify has had on her life. She is later stabbed while entering an elevator. Mack theorizes that Frank is a witness under police protection. Pat returns home with her arm in a sling. After watching a news report of a witness being stabbed in D.C., Mack and Karen realize Pat is the witness. Greg has Paige arrange dates for him. Val receives a letter from Ben.
Val is elated at the prospect of Ben coming home. Mack fears something may have happened between the time of the letter's mailing in Guatemala and its delivery. Pat thinks Val is not very realistic. Pat and Karen suggest Karen buy a mini skirt, and she shows up for a meeting with Abby and Manny wearing it. Olivia says she will not go to college and will be a traditional stay-at-home woman, the kind Harold wants. Abby expresses concern that Harold and Olivia's relationship is moving too fast. Karen advises Abby to be so overly kind to Harold, Olivia will tire of him. Harold proposes to Olivia. Abby forbids Olivia to see Harold anymore and makes it clear to Manny that his contract with Lotus Point is contingent on him keeping Harold away from Olivia. Paige tells Greg that she's available if he needs dates. Jill continues to drink in response to Gary's newfound preoccupation with being a father to the twins. Gary expresses concern about how Ben's supposed return may affect his access to the twins. Karen is disappointed when Mack shows no concern that Manny flirted with her. Jill negotiates a plea deal for an elderly forger. Later, she forges another letter, this one for Jill and signed by "Ben." Harold and Olivia announce they are eloping.
Abby and Manny try to locate Harold and Olivia. Gary thinks Jill is becoming dependent on alcohol. Harold insists to Johnnythat he will marry Olivia no matter the consequence to him. Manny sends a henchmen to stop Harold and Olivia from marrying. Harold reluctantly tells Olivia he doesn't want to marry her. After a breakfast meeting where Karen shares her life story with Manny, he kisses her. Jill pays a stranger flying to Honduras to mail a letter there that is addressed to Val. Harold tells Olivia that Manny is behind his decision not to marry her. Olivia implores Abby to talk to Manny on their behalf. Abby gives Manny an ultimatum: send Harold away or he will have no deal with Lotus Point. Paige learns about an archaeological dig in Santa Tecla, Mexico that could unearth expensive pre-Columbian art. She convinces Greg to provide funds so that the dig may continue. Paige catches Johnny in bed with another woman in Santa Tecla. Johnny and Paige make up. Karen admits to Pat that Manny kissed her. Jill and Val arrive at a truce. Olivia overhears Manny tell Harold that Abby is the one who wants Harold sent away.
Harold leaves town and leaves Olivia depressed. Manny assures Abby that Olivia is unaware that they are responsible for Harold's departure, but Karen later tells her that Olivia does know. Gary sees late night activity at the Lotus Point marina and alerts Mack. Mack questions whether Manny's business is legit, but Karen thinks he's just jealous. Frank and Pat argue about his reluctance to apply for another job. Mack offers him a job tailing Manny. Abby agrees to help Greg engineer a hostile takeover of a company. Val receives a second fake letter from Ben. Jill manipulates old news footage of Ben to leave a voice message from Ben on Val's answering machine. Olivia leaves prized possessions with Brian and Gary and asks Manny to give Harold a letter from her. Manny then gives Abby the letter, which reads like a suicide note.
Manny alerts Harold to Olivia's suicide note and questions whether she is with him. Karen learns Mack hired Frank to spy on Manny. Frank suspects Manny is dealing cocaine. Val puts the answering machine tape aside and labels it "Ben's Tape." Paige realizes her attempt to slow down the highway construction in Santa Tecla has been thwarted. Manny instructs Johnny to return to Santa Tecla and ensure that the highway construction moves forward full speed. Paige accompanies Johnny, secretly taking with her a pre-Columbian artifact she has acquired for Greg. She hatches a plan to bury the artifact so that the archaeological dig will discover it. Olivia is discovered unconscious, having overdosed on sleeping pills. When she awakens, she rejects Abby. Jill covertly steals a spare key in Val's house and has a copy made. When Gary questions the authenticity of "Ben's Tape," Jill swipes it from Val's house. Abby backs out of her deal with Greg. Chava, one of the archaeological workers, spots Paige and Johnny planting the artifact.
Paige tries to pay for Chava's silence, but he says he supports her attempt to stop the highway construction and won't expose what she did. Manny tells Johnny to "get rid of" Paige once the artifact's discovery threatens to delay the highway, but questions Johnny's connection to her. Mack tells Karen that Manny is using Lotus Point to run drugs. Gary worries about Val's mental state when "Ben's Tape" is blank. Meanwhile, Jill destroys the actual tape. Gary offers to keep the twins for a few days. Jill calls Val and plays another "Ben" message for her. Abby realizes Charles is the one who brought Manny to Lotus Point. When Abby, Karen, Gary, and Mack go to the authorities, they are asked to pretend as if everything is fine while Manny is investigated. They are later told Manny is working for the government. Greg applauds Paige for her initiative. After Michael confesses he considered suicide after Paige rejected him, Olivia decides to cooperate with her counseling and is able to leave the hospital. Michael accompanies Paige to help with the archaeological dig in Santa Tecla. A reporter arrives in Santa Tecla to inquire about the artifact. In Jill's presence, Val mentions she has not filled a prescription for sleeping pills. Jill takes the prescription and has it filled.
Karen, Abby, Gary, and Mack are warned that Manny will make it look as if they are behind the drug ring at Lotus Point. In Santa Tecla, Manny's goons attempt several methods to scare off the archaeological dig, ultimately succeeding. Mack asks Greg to use his federal contacts to learn why Manny is useful to the government. Greg learns that Manny is not running drugs but weapons. Jill departs for a conference in San Francisco - with a gun. In a wig and using a fake name, she buys a used car and hides the gun under the car's back seat, parking the car at the airport. On her flight, she discusses with a fellow passenger the fact that she has learned a lot about murders in her work as a lawyer. Once in San Francisco, Jill flirts with an efficiency expert at her conference and unbeknownst to him, she slips a mickey in his drink. He later passes out in her hotel room. She then leaves a message on Gary's answering machine that is billed to her hotel room and asks the hotel operator for a wake-up call. Donning a different wig and glasses, she heads to the airport. She encounters several difficulties returning to Los Angeles, but ultimately ends up at Val's. Meanwhile, Val has agreed to join Frank and Pat for a movie while Julie babysits the twins. In Santa Tecla, Johnny keeps Paige from getting into a car with the reporter only seconds before his car explodes.
Jill threatens Valene with a gun, forcing her to swallow sleeping pills.
Mack goes to Mexico to search for Michael and Paige. Frank finds an unconscious Val on her bedroom floor. Gary rushes to the hospital and pays for Val's medical care. He calls Jill and notifies her of Val's suicide attempt. When Jill arrives and learns that Val will live, she excuses herself to vomit. Jill later muses to herself that Val is in a psych ward and no one will believe her when she regains consciousness. Fearing Manny may hurt her or Mack, Karen leaves Meg with an unhappy Greg. Harold, Manny, and his goon imprison Mack. They call Karen and force Mack to tell her to allow Manny's shipment to be unloaded. Mack plays on Harold's guilt about Olivia to shake his faith in Manny's promise to release Mack, Michael, and Paige. Later, Mack and Chava attempt to overtake Manny and his goon. Chava and the goon are killed. Harold is forced to kill Manny to save Mack. He tells Mack he doesn't know where Paige and Michael are.
Johnny engineers Paige and Michael's escape. Mack and Harold team up to find them, too. Val regains consciousness and screams that Jill tried to kill her. Karen refuses to call the police until she has heard news about her family. Mack later calls and tells her Manny is dead. Gary thinks Val's story is a hallucination. Pat doesn't think the pills Val took would make her hallucinate. Frank calls the police. Val tells her story to a police officer, who then goes to Jill and tells her off the record that she believes Jill is disturbed. Greg hires Ted Melcher to work on improving his image with the public. Johnny, Paige, and Michael realize they must exit Mexico under cover, as Manny's people are in cahoots with the government. They link up with a small group of Mexican nationals attempting to illegally immigrate. Val sends the twins to stay with Lillie Mae and Al. Thieves leave Paige, Johnny, Michael and the other nationals locked in an unventilated truck.
Val leaves the hospital and goes to Karen's because she is afraid to go home alone. Paige, Johnny, and Michael remain trapped in the deserted truck with the other Mexican nationals, one of whom dies. Johnny reveals that he is not Irish and his accent is fake. Mack continues to search for them and eventually frees them. Mack returns with Paige, Johnny, Michael, and Harold to Knots Landing. Harold apologizes to Olivia for leaving her, to Abby's chagrin. Val avoids everyone but eventually pronounces that she did not try to kill herself. She goes home and terrified, stays up all night watching her front door armed with a knife. Greg hires Ted Melcher to reform his public image. Drugs are found in the Lotus Point marina. The police later question Karen and Abby but Mack sends them away. A car pulls into the cul-de-sac at night and parks.
The man in the car observes Frank and Val talking. Val refuses to leave her house. Frank tells Pat he believes Val and asks her to check Jill's account for the past three months. Julie participates in a spelling bee. Frank expresses concern about her being photographed, unaware that the man who has been observing him in the cul-de-sac is now video recording him and Pat. The man (using the name Ned Donnelly) later visits Pat at the bank to open a new account. Pat and Frank ask Julie to lose the spelling bee to avoid the public recognition. Business at Lotus Point drops off dramatically amid the newspaper report of drugs found on the property. Ted suggests Greg get chummy with the environmentalists. Harold and Johnny discuss potential job prospects. Mack is disillusioned with being middle-aged. Val tells Gary not to come around her anymore so that Jill will leave her alone. Paige skinny dips in Greg's pool.
Paige and Greg make love -- repeatedly. Jill calls Val, asking for Gary. Ned blackmails Frank and Pat with his knowledge of their real identities. He tells Pat to transfer $100,000 from one account into hers and make out the amount in a cashier's check to him. Pat is able to contact Mack without Ned's knowledge. Mack follows him and learns he is an actor. He and Frank devise a ruse to uncover how he knows about the Williamses' real identities. He later reveals he was an orderly at the hospital where Pat was a doctor. While Mack and Frank are working to get to the bottom of things, Karen asks Gary to shelter Pat and Julie. Abby tries to hire Ted to clean up Lotus Point's image. Paige moves some of her things into Greg's place, to his discomfort. Val tries to hire a private investigator, but he refuses to take her money when he disbelieves her story.
Paige assures Greg she has not told Mack that they are sleeping together. Later, Ted tells Greg that being with Paige will not be good for his public image. Harold asks Mack for advice about handling Olivia. Mack suggests he talk to Abby, who tells him to give her time to think about allowing him and Olivia to date again. Gary, Karen, and Val go to San Francisco to check on Jill's alibi. Val finds it suspicious that everyone they ask remembers Jill. One man remembers that Jill was not seen after 8 p.m. Val points out that this fact opens the possibility that what she has been saying about Jill is true. When Gary asks Jill about it later, she admits that she was with a man after 8 p.m. that night. Mack arranges for Pat and Julie's dental records (under their real names) to be matched with a mother and daughter who died in a tragic accident. He says they are now free of the Witness Security Program.
Karen, Gary, and Abby put Lotus Point up for sale and consider offers. Greg phones Abby expressing interest in buying Lotus Point. Karen learns Greg made the offer to Abby but she never told them about it. Secretly, Abby has plans to buy Lotus Point and drill for oil. She also scares off a potential buyer before her offer (through her dummy company, Murakame) is presented to Karen and Gary. Abby offers Harold a job and appears to have turned over a new leaf where he is concerned. Later, though, she plants drugs in his locker at work and he is arrested. Ted comes on to Paige, but she says he is a year too late. Val disbelieves Jill's story about a one-night stand in San Francisco and asks Gary to get the man's name (David). She later tracks him down and he denies sleeping with Jill. Jill meets with David and (with Gary eavesdropping) he confesses to lying to Val because he's married. Lotus Point is sold to Murakame. Abby celebrates.
Paige wants to tell Mack and Karen about them, but he says it is a bad idea. Paige and Greg play strip croquet. Paige and Greg both say "the L word" to each other. Mack asks Greg if he knows who Paige is seeing. Greg takes down the painting he bought for Laura, replacing it with a painting Paige bought him. Greg buys a ring and contemplates marriage, but Ted says that he and Paige would be "political suicide." He later proposes to Abby. Ted thinks the L.A. mayor will resign and suggests Greg is the right candidate for a potential special election. Gary is distant with Jill. Jill threatens Val with a slander suit if she continues to make accusations against her. Gary tells Jill that he no longer wants to be with her but agrees to let her stay until she finds an apartment. Ted tries to schmooze both Paige and Abby. Abby hires a lawyer for Harold but secretly works with the lawyer to undermine his case. Jill privately announces her engagement to Gary. Paige's grandfather dies and she must go to New York.
In New York, Paige trades barbs with her mother Anne. Anne tells Paige her grandfather left her nothing in his will. Paige insists she needs nothing -- she has Greg's love. Greg begins to avoid Paige's calls from New York. Abby tells Greg she needs time to consider his proposal. Greg spends quality time with Brian to gain Abby's affection. Mack decides to take a leave of absence from work. With both he and Karen home together all day, Mack begins to grate Karen's nerves, and she suggests he go on a vacation, alone. Harold buys a ring for Olivia. Abby tries to discourage Olivia from considering marriage to Harold. Val is determined to get the twins back. Abby accepts Greg's proposal but will keep her own name. Paige returns from New York and falls asleep in Greg's bed, but he lets her sleep alone.
Greg avoids Paige. Ted helps Abby and Greg plan their wedding. Greg is uncomfortable when Meg is mentioned as a possible wedding guest. Paige sees the engagement ring and tries it on. Michael indicates he will major in business in college. Mack meets park ranger Paula Vertosick on his camping vacation and contemplates having an affair with her. Karen is amused at Abby's wedding announcement. Karen breaks the news to Paige, unaware that Paige thinks Greg wants to marry her. Olivia is disgusted to hear Abby is marrying Greg. Greg tells Paige he should never have gotten involved with her. Paige returns to work the next morning, insistent on keeping her job. Jill leaves Gary's ranch, but is giving her new landlord the run around about moving in. She lies that her apartment isn't ready to get back onto the ranch. Greg announces both his candidacy for mayor and his engagement to Abby.
Paige questions why Greg has not told Abby about their relationship. Greg tells her that his conversations with his fiancee are private. Harold proposes to Olivia. Olivia tells Abby she doesn't need her permission to live her life. Paige pleads with Greg that she will do anything to be with him. Mack is disillusioned that his office is assigned to defend the county against the homeless. Paige arranges to be with Ted at the same time and place Greg and Abby Harold has difficulty finding a job. Johnny and Harold rent an apartment together. Paige anonymously sends Greg and Abby a croquet set. Olivia realizes Abby set up Harold and threatens to derail Greg's campaign by exposing her if she doesn't allow Olivia's engagement to Harold. Harold's charges are dismissed. Greg and Abby are married. Gary tells Jill not to return to the ranch.
Abby and Greg make love. Mack quits his job and begins looking for office space to go into private practice. He successfully negotiates a settlement for the homeless. His secretary Peggy later joins him in his private practice. David, the man Jill claims she slept with in San Francisco, tells her she gave him VD. Gary is amused when Jill tells him the news. He later finds out he does not have VD. A delusional Jill tells the doctor she and Gary are getting married, argues with a print shop about wedding invitations, and inquires about enrolling "her" twins in kindergarten. Gary learns Jill had a prescription for sleeping pills. Later, Mack informs him that Jill negotiated a plea for an elderly lady who was facing prison time for forgery. Johnny tells Paige he knows how it feels to be dumped by someone you love. Val's Aunt Virginia brings the twins home with plans to stay to look after Val. Jill learns Gary knows she had a prescription for sleeping pills.
Mack and Peggy use an old key to get the file on Mrs. Bailey, the forger Jill used to write the Ben letters. Mack hires Frank to locate Mrs. Bailey, who is found in a hospital, unable to speak. Jill learns that Mack and Peggy took a file from her office. Gary is arrested for breaking into Jill's apartment, but she refuses to press charges. Jill lashes out at Gary for believing Val's story. Michael has a crush on a classmate named Ellen, but she has eyes for Johnny. A wedding dress arrives for a delusional Jill. Pat, Frank, Mack, and Karen plot out scenarios that support Val's story. Pat says that in small doses the sleeping pills Jill had could make someone forgetful. David, Jill's San Francisco alibi, tells Gary and Mack he doesn't remember the night he spent with Jill.
Karen tells Val that Mack is working to get a court order to search Mrs. Bailey's apartment. Meanwhille, Jill breaks into the apartment, locates incriminating evidence, and burns it. Jill takes a lie detector test, which she passes. Gary asks Jill to see a psychiatrist. Harold and Olivia babysit Meg. Karen has some separation anxiety when she takes Meg to day care. Greg tells Ted that Mack and Karen have not legally adopted Meg, but she is better off with them. Ted tells Greg that he will lose the election if he has no better explanation for his choice than that. Michael and Ellen's computer program is deemed marketable by their professor. Ellen tells Johnny she is not interested in Michael. Jill shops for a wheelchair for her "fiancé." Greg tells Mack he wants Meg in his home, but Mack tells him that will happen over his dead body. Jill cuts the straps on a saddle in Gary's stable.
Abby suggests Greg let the lawyers handle all future contact with the MacKenzies. Mack tells Karen about Greg's request. Paige eavesdrops on the conversation. Later, she asks Greg why he would want a woman like Abby to raise his daughter. Jill shops for a hospital bed. Julie is injured while riding Gary's horse. Karen slaps Abby for saying that a dead Laura has no say in who should raise Meg. Gary threatens Jill. An antsy Gary sleeps outside of Val's house fearing Jill will hurt her or the twins. Olivia tells Abby she will not let her do to Meg what she's done to her. Mack and Karen hire a lawyer. Olivia takes Meg for a walk and doesn't return for hours. Pat learns the saddle Julie was riding on was cut deliberately. She then spies Jill on the ranch, but she disappears from sight. Ted and Abby leak a sob story about Greg and Meg to the press.
Gary is disturbed to learn Jill has been riding horses and hiking on his ranch. He also suspects that Jill is turning his bed down, stealing photos of the twins, and leaving flowers in his bedroom (which she has). Gary threatens Jill to leave Knots Landing or he will destroy her. Jill notifies the police. Ted arranges a sit-down meeting between Mack, Karen, Greg, Abby, and their attorneys. Paige berates Ted for using Meg for political purposes. Jill has Gary served with a restraining order. Karen apologizes for hitting Abby; Mack says she didn't hit her hard enough. The twins accidentally run in to Jill at the library, and she convinces them not to tell Val they saw her. When Val learns about it, she violently confronts Jill at her office. Paige secretly takes Meg to see Greg. Mack and Karen decide to give up Meg to prevent a custody battle. Greg prepares a speech saying Meg will stay with the MacKenzies. Gary is pulled over by the police, who discover Jill's dead body in the trunk of his Jaguar.
Pat admits to Karen that she has a crush on Gary. Frank tells Pat that Jill got what she deserved. Val goes for a jog after learning of Jill's death and collapses in a fit of tears and laughter. Police tell Mack a witness saw Gary put Jill's body in his trunk. Abby theorizes that Gary could have only killed Jill to protect Val or to cover up for her. Gary says Val is his alibi during the time Jill died. Greg's speech curries favor with the public. The coroner determines Jill died from asphyxiating on her own vomit. Material is found underneath Jill's fingernails; meanwhile, Gary's neck has three fresh scratch wounds on it. Greg tells Paige he plans to move out of L.A. after being elected mayor. On election day, a newspaper story leaks that Greg had planned to sue to get his daughter back. The reporter calls Paige and thanks her for the scoop. Greg loses the election. Ted and Abby form an alliance "to win." Gary recalls that when he last saw Jill she had been drinking. Mack thinks Gary killed her.
Mack doesn't know how to craft a defense for Gary or if he wants to. Lawyers try to get Val and Gary to turn on each other. Gary and Val show up to Jill's funeral. Val throws dirt in Jill's grave. Mack learns the witness that saw Gary stuff Jill's body in his trunk is anonymous. Abby lobbies to keep Ted as Greg's PR guy. Mack learns Frank was at Jill's on the day she died. He admits to scaring her. Mack says he will notify the police if Frank doesn't. Frank later tells Pat he has no alibi for the afternoon Jill died and asks her to say he was with her. Ted asks Paige why she tanked Greg's election. Ted agrees to keep silent about Paige as they have mutual interests (he wants Abby and she wants Greg). Ted tells Abby, Greg, and Paige the leak came from a typist in the MacKenzie's lawyer's office. He privately asks Greg to promote Paige to work with him on a media campaign. While investigating, Mack and Harold cannot see a Jaguar key hidden beneath Jill's apartment building.
The court finds probable cause that Gary killed Jill and denies him bail. Jill's landlord finds Gary's car key near the building. Frank and Mack determine Jill planned to get married to Gary. Frank lashes out at Pat for not believing in him. Geologist and co-conspirator Rick Hawkins tells Abby she will need an environmental impact report before she can drill for oil at Lotus Point. Karen sees the twins perform a magic trick with rope and theorizes that Jill killed her self. Once Jill's print is found inside a hole in Gary's trunk, Mack recounts for the DA Jill's diabolical plan to frame Gary for her "murder." Without disclosing her connection to Murakame, Abby convinces Ted to handle the company's PR. Paige tells Greg he married Abby because he's afraid of her -- and he should be. The DA drops all charges against Gary.
An Ann Landers column on sex after marriage has everyone talking. Karen later shows up at Mack's office wearing a teddy beneath her coat -- and is seen by Mack's clients. Michael, Ellen, and their college friends go on a spring break camping trip. Johnny shows up there, and Michael realizes he and Ellen are lovers. Olivia uses Michael's camping trip as a cover so she can spend a weekend with Harold, but he's insistent that they not be intimate. Pat and Frank make up, thanks to Julie. Paige and Greg have a talk about having sex. Abby and Karen are both nominated to serve on the board of an environmental protection group. Abby "accidentally" dumps a cup of coffee in Karen's lap. Karen later learns Murakame has applied for drilling permits at Lotus Point. Paige finagles her way into a rent-free apartment owned by the Sumner Group. At their board meeting, Abby and Karen present opposing responses to Murakame's plan to drill for oil. Abby reveals to Ted that she is Murakame. Michael meets and interacts with ranger Paula Vertosick, who says she will be lecturing at his college this semester.
Abby presents a report supporting Murakame's plan to drill for oil and offers the Sumner Group as both meeting space and corporate sponsor for the environmental rights board. Michael connects Paula and Karen in the hopes Paula can help Karen with a report opposing Murakame's plan to drill for oil. Ted recommends Greg as an appointee for U.S. trade representative to Japan. Paige suggests Greg develop a relationship with Murakame to help secure the appointment. Gary notices Val's new haircut. Abby arranges a meeting between Greg and a Murakame representative named "Mr. Nagata" (an actor she has hired). When Abby cuts Paige out of the lunch meeting, Paige moves an out of order sign to trap Abby in a malfunctioning elevator. "Nagata" says he will take Greg's offer of support to the Murakame board. Later, Greg is notified Murakame has declined his offer. Karen invites Paula to dinner, to Mack and Paula's surprise. Paula tells Mack she doesn't think she should work with Karen. Ellen shows Johnny how to work the computer security program she and Michael have designed. He later copies the program. Paige sees "Nagata" acting in a movie.
Abby shreds the contents of Paula's Lotus Point file. Ted accuses Abby of directing "Nagata" to give Paige his name. She then uses sex (in an elevator) to show him that she is still loyal to him. Greg is not interested when Paige tells him that "Nagata" is an actor. Ginny buys Val a computer to help her with her writing, and says a computer tech named Danny comes along with the purchase should any issues arise. Paige can no longer locate "Nagata" because Abby has paid him to leave the country. However, he shows up later and extorts Abby for even more money. Michael and Ellen are accused of plagiarism and placed on academic probation once Sumner Group's computer security program is revealed. Sumner tells them Johnny sold him the program. He tells Michael and Ellen to prove he stole it. Abby tries to get Paige to go work for Sumner Group in New York, but she declines the opportunity. Karen asks Abby for Murakame's number so she can contact the company directly. Mack accuses Paula of coming after him. Paula recommends Michael sue Sumner. Val enjoys meeting Danny. Abby asks Ted to deliver money to "Nagata." Ted learns Abby would be guilty of fraud and embezzlement if her former partners learned she is Murakame. Paige sees Ted and "Nagata" driving away together. Later, she learns that "Nagata" was killed in a car accident.
Michael and Ellen's professor tell them their program is plagiarised from a program donated by Greg, and puts them on probation. Greg tells Michael that he bought it from Johnny. Michael tells Greg that he is going to sue him. Paula admits to Michael she's in love with a married man, but doesn't tell him it's Mac. Paula and Karen go back to Lotus Point, but there's no sign of the oil drillers. Abby gives Nogata money to go back to Japan, but he blackmails her for more. Paige follows Nagata, and sees Ted give him a briefcase of money. She still follows, but loses him at a red light. Home, Paige sees on the news that Nagata was killed. Just then Ted comes by and tells her he was killed. Paige asks how he knew and he says he saw it on the TV in the lobby. Gary continues talking with Sally's friend. Ginny buys Val a computer, and hires Danny Waleska to teach her how to use it. He and Val go out to lunch.
Ted assures Abby that "Nagata's" death was accidental. Mack dreams and daydreams of kissing Paula. Paige threatens to tell the police she saw him with "Nagata" before his death, and he tells her she is in way over her head. Val and Danny go on a lunch date. Through an interpreter, Karen learns that Murakame is not a Japanese company. News reports indicate "Nagata's" death may not be accidental. Michael threatens to sue Sumner. He later tells Johnny he will only end up with about 2 percent of what the computer program is worth. Frank joins Mack's office as an investigator. Karen invites Paula to stay with the MacKenzies while her water heater is being repaired in her apartment. Paige accesses Ted's computer files and learns Ted works for Murakame. Abby doctors Paige's Sumner Group expense reports so that it looks like Paige is misappropriating funds. When the discrepancies are noticed, Abby is surprised to additionally learn that Paige is living in a Sumner Group property rent-free. Greg tells Abby to handle it, so she fires Paige.
Fearing a lawsuit will expose them as the owners of the Murakame Group, Abby and Ted Melcher fix the books. Meanwhile, Mack and Paula resist temptation while she stays at the MacKenzie house. Greg ignores Paige after she's fired.
Karen accuses Abby and of being involved in Murakame and using Ted as a front. Paige threatens Ted that she will tell Greg about him and Abby. Greg asks Abby to fire Ted once he learns of his "duplicity" in owning Murakame. Ted and Abby agree that he will resign instead. Abby tips off that Greg has been imprudent about Ted's involvement in Murakame. Mort, a Sumner Group employee, picks Rick Hawkins' letter out of the trash and plans to use it to get closer to her. Paige suspects something has happened to Rick and shares her concern with Mack. Ted tells Abby he's not worried about Rick. Abby suspects he's killed Rick. Abby pulls away from Ted. Abby tries to set Olivia up with a young, attractive Sumner Group employee, but she announces at her 18th birthday party that she and Harold were married that morning. Ted tells Mack that Paige was fired because Greg set up his mistress in a Sumner Group apartment. Ted learns that the drilling permits were denied a week ago. Ted realizes Abby set him up. Mort delivers to Paige the letter, which contains a key and a note that she was right about Ted. Mack tells Paige he's ashamed of her. At Olivia's party, he punches Greg in the eye. The police discover Rick's body. A reporter contacts Karen with the allegation that Abby owns Murakame. Karen tells Abby she will go to jail for fraud.
Greg tells Abby their "business deal" (marriage) is over. Karen and Gary try to find evidence against Abby. The reporter tells Ted that she will need proof that Abby defrauded her partners before she can print the story. Greg allows Paige to keep her Sumner Group apartment but does not want Paige to know he's behind her staying. Rick's death is reported in the newspaper. Paige goes to the police with her suspicions that Ted is involved in Rick's death, but they find her story incredible. Harold and Olivia honeymoon in their apartment. Harold tells Paige she has a post office box key. Abby tells Paige she's a "6" on the Abby scale. When Abby suggests an annulment, Olivia tells her she wants to live on her own. Abby takes Olivia's credit cards and car. At her press conference, Abby claims she bought Murakame only recently to save it from oil drilling. She donates the Lotus Point land to the state as wildlife preserve. Abby is chosen as U.S. trade representative to Japan. While she is in Japan, Abby asks Karen to look after Olivia. Mack and Karen make plans to vacation in the mountains. Paige tries, unsuccessfully, to locate the post office box. Abby shows Ted photos of him tinkering under the hood of "Nagata's" car. She says Rick sent them to her, and as long as nothing happens to her, the police will never see them. She also notifies him that Rick sent Paige a note incriminating him. Karen volunteers Mack to drop Paula off on their way to their mountain vacation. Greg reveals that he stopped the drilling permits on Lotus Point. Abby and Brian leave Knots Landing. Ted claims Abby and Greg set him up and are trying to kill him.
Ted stalks Paige incessantly, trying to convince her that she cannot trust Greg and should tell him what was in the letter Rick sent her. Both Paige and Ted try to get Mort to give them access to Rick Hawkins' files. Paige succeeds, but finds nothing in the files. Her apartment is ransacked when she returns home and the key is missing. Paige seeks refuge at Greg's ranch. Ted calls, claiming Greg was not out of town the night Rick died. Carlos confirms he was in California at the time. Greg says he was overseeing a takeover. Paige and Greg make love. Afterward, Paige finds a post office box key in Greg's personal effects. While getting gas on the road trip, Karen breaks her ankle, requiring her to spend a night in a hospital. Mack takes Paula to a motel some miles away but rain, a flat tire, and a skunk force him to spend the night in Paula's room. Paige runs away from Greg, saying she can't trust him. Ted arrives. Paige is left standing in the rain, unsure whether to trust Greg or Ted.
Paige decides to leave the ranch with Ted, who insists that she tell him where Greg is storing the key at the ranch. When Greg calls and leaves a message proving that Paige took the key, Ted demands she give it to him. She throws him a key. Paige learns Rick Hawkins has a second home in Spring Lake and goes there, followed by both Greg and Ted. Greg hires muscle to get from Ted the key. Mack and Paula act awkwardly around Karen, who is discharged from the hospital. Karen notices Paula's odd behavior, but Mack pretends he doesn't notice. Val visits Danny at his place and they share a kiss, but Val leaves before things escalate. Gary is teased by Val and Pat about his mystery woman, but he admits to Pat that he's never met her. He later tells "Sally's friend" that he no longer wants to talk to her unless she gives him her number. When she doesn't, he hangs up. She receives a phone call from someone she insists not call her again. Later, she calls Gary back and agrees to meet him. She calls again just before they are set to meet and expresses some trepidation. She puts Gary on hold to answer her door. Gary listens as the man at her door argues with her and then attacks her. The phone line then goes dead.
Gary tries, to no avail, to trace "Sally's friend" through phone records. Karen plans a barbecue for Eric and Linda, who will be arriving soon. She is curious about Val's relationship with Danny and tells Val to invite him to the barbecue. Paige steals Greg's keys and wallet, and later uses the key she's retained to locate Rick Hawkins' mail box. Before she does, Greg arrives and demands she give him the key. The police officer who has been friendly to Paige escorts Greg outside. Ted, meanwhile, has managed to escape from captivity. He notices Paige leaving and hotwires a car to pursue her. Paige has a flat and stops at a service station to get it changed. While in the restroom, she opens Hawkins' mail and learns that Abby owned Murakame. She also discovers film negatives. Ted busts through the bathroom door with a sledgehammer just as Paige escapes through a window with the documents. Threatening with the sledgehammer, Ted gets the documents from Paige. She later retrieves the negatives from a hiding place in the restroom. The truck Ted hotwired has a loose axel and is expected to break down. Paige and Greg come upon the truck being pulled from a lake, and assume Ted has perished. He actually escaped and hitches a ride away from the scene. The twins spy Val and Danny kissing and later tell her that they don't want Danny to come around anymore.
Val tells Danny "no", but she cannot deny to Karen later that she is considering his offer. Paige pays to get the film negatives developed. Greg offers to re-hire her, but she rebuffs his offer and his attempt to romance her. Karen is surprised to learn that Mack and Paula shared a hotel room. She later invites Paula to a barbecue for Eric and Linda. Ted has a proposition for Greg: he won't release the Murakame papers, proving Abby defrauded her Lotus Point partners (and possibly incriminate Greg in her dealings) if Greg will get him the negatives Rick Hawkins had in his box. Eric and Linda return. Olivia and Harold haggle over their budget. Paige sees the photos of Ted engineering Nagata's car crash, and later apologizes to Greg, telling him she took the evidence to the police. Danny is surprised to learn the twins' teacher is named Amanda, and he avoids meeting her. The twins do not want to attend the barbecue with Danny. Gary places a large ad in the newspaper looking for "Sally's friend." Paige attends the barbecue and fights with Mack again once he learns she's agreed to return to Sumner Group. Karen is surprised when Michael tells her that Paula is in love with a married man. Karen agrees to let Linda stay with the Mackenzies for about two months while Eric is in Saudia Arabia for a job. Karen asks Mack what happened in the hotel room. He admits that nothing happened but that he was attracted to Paula. Paige is shocked when she learns Greg stole the pictures and traded them to Ted for the Murakame papers. Ted leaves for Japan. Danny shows up to Amanda's and kisses her.
Danny drops off Amanda at school, where Val is dropping off the twins. He pretends that he came there to see Val. Gary hires Frank to help him find "Sally's friend." The twins tells Gary that they want to live with him because Val doesn't love them anymore. Paige requests Abby's old office, a $120,000 salary, an expense account, a company car, her own parking space, secretary, with six months guaranteed severance pay. Greg questions Paige about what people will think if he honors her requests, and she says she doesn't care what people think. Michael accepts $100,000 from Greg for his rights to the Super Lock program and quits college to work for Sumner, to Mack and Karen's disapproval. Gary and Val disagree about how to handle the twins' dislike of Danny. Val tells Danny that Gary is the twins' father. Karen asks Paula why she didn't tell her that she was in love with Mack. Paula admits to her crush, but says she never acted on it because of her friendship with Karen. Gary goes with Pat to hear Frank play guitar and sing at a club. Amanda is also singing there. Gary spies Amanda and Danny there together, kissing. As she's leaving, Gary hears Amanda call her dog Chester and realizes she is "Sally's friend."
Gary learns "Sally's friend" is actually Amanda Michaels, but he has trouble getting her actual number. He goes to Val's the next morning hoping to get Danny's contact information, but Danny is there. Danny admits Amanda is his wife when Gary says he saw the two leaving the club together and kissing. Val rebuffs Danny. Gary hits Val's door trying to punch Danny. Ginny takes the twins to see a friend, Jeri Maddux, who steals cash from the office while Ginny and the twins are using the restroom. Danny tells Val that Amanda was unstable and unpredictable and that they have been separated nine months. Val continues to reject Danny. Paige rebuffs Greg's attempts to wine and dine her. Ginny is arrested as an accomplice to theft. Ginny tells Mack, Karen, and Val that Jeri took $17,000 that was owed to her pension fund, which had been taken away when her company changed owners. Jeri refuses to give back the money even though it may mean she will go to prison. Oakman Industries, the new owners, insist to their lawyer that they do not want the case to go to trial and they do not want to answer any questions about the case. Mack tells Karen that he is glad Jeri won't give back the money. Later, Jeri ends up dead on the pavement outside her seventh-floor apartment building.
Danny cries to Amanda that he loves her and doesn't want a divorce. Later he makes up with Val. Karen's friend asks her to sub for her on the TV show "Open Mike". Karen's surprised to find that Greg is the guest. Paula comes down to support Karen, and they make up. Paula and Greg argue and verbally spar, and decide to have lunch. Ginny was at Jeri's when she was killed. Mack and Frank don't think it was a suicide and find out Mark Baylor was in her building at the time. Mack thinks that Mark killed Jeri. The coroner says she died from a blow to her head before the fall. Ginny is arrested for the murder.
Amanda rebuffs Danny after their one-night stand. Both Gary and Danny are annoyed at each other's presences in their exes lives. Gary invites Amanda for a weekend getaway to free themselves of Danny's presence. Paula rebuffs Greg's attempts to use her to make Paige jealous. Greg puts Paige in charge of a prestigious Sumner Group account. Paige rebuffs Tom Ryan initially, but after he shows up at the Sumner office party, she takes him home and has sex with him. Mack accuses Mark Baylor of killing Jeri Maddox, yet agrees to defend him later. Michael has no date for the Sumner office party until Linda agrees to go with him, pretending to be "Theresa." Ginny finds money hidden in Jeri's jewelry box.
Mack invites Paige and Tom to dinner at the MacKenzies' house. Mack attempts to exonerate Mark Baylor with the discovery of Ginny's money, but Mark threatens to accuse Mack of manufacturing evidence. Mark fires Mack when he refuses to plead him out. Karen guest co-hosts Open Mike and loves it. Michael and Linda double date with Harold and Olivia, who are arguing over money problems. Frank convinces Mack to get other retirees who lost their pension to file a class-action lawsuit against Oakman Industries. Mack shares the info with Tom, who pays a visit to one of the retirees, claiming he is working on Mack's behalf. The retiree ends up with a broken arm. Tom is revealed to be working for Oakman and is ordered to stop seeing Paige.
Danny feigns delight when Amanda signs the divorce papers, but privately he cries. Later, he makes love to Val. When Danny learns that Amanda is planning to go away with Gary, he becomes unreasonable with his divorce settlement. He breaks her grandmother's dishes when he learns that she wants them, later claiming he gave them to Goodwill. Tom and Paige pine for each other after he breaks up with her. Michael is testy when Mort wants to date "Theresa." Mark Baylor is sentenced to three years prison, and he cautions Karen to get Mack to back off of Oakman. Danny kidnaps Amanda's dog and then assaults her when she attempts to get it back.
Danny tells Amanda that no one will believe that he raped her. Amanda avoids talking to Gary. Danny buys Val an engagement ring. Karen becomes a permanent host for Open Mike. When Danny learns Amanda quit her job, he attempts to apologize and returns her dog to her. Michael admits to having a crush on Linda. She kisses him, but he says that "this didn't happen." Later, Linda tells the MacKenzies that she and Eric are divorcing. Paige and Tom make up. When Amanda backs out of a date with Gary, he says he's had it "with crazy women." Paige is assaulted by one of Oakman's henchmen. Gary recognizes Amanda's voice as a call-in rape victim on Karen's show.
Gary helps Amanda to report her rape to the police. Amanda admits that she last had consensual sex with Danny two weeks before the rape and that she willingly went to Danny's. Danny tells Val that Amanda is making outrageous claims just before Gary informs her that Danny raped Amanda. Val does not believe Gary and later assures Karen that she is confident Danny did not rape Amanda. The DA refuses to file any charges against Danny. When Danny leaves Amanda a voice mail threatening legal action for defamation, Gary lures Danny to the ranch and scares him.
Paige plays hooky from work to spend time with Tom. She spots Greg playing hooky with Paula. Linda tells Michael she wants to get her own apartment now that she is divorcing Eric. Harold and Olivia argue about her spending money on Michael's birthday gift. Karen plans a birthday party for Michael's 21st. Eric returns and tells Linda he does not want a divorce. Linda tells Michael she loves him. Michael refuses to be with Linda. Paula tells Greg he will have to put in effort to have her. Linda tells Karen that she is in love with Michael.
Mack discovers that Pomerantz is dead. He finds the doctor who signed his death certificate works for Oakman and is Pomerantz's uncle. Mack presses the doctor, who finally admits that Pomerantz is alive and living in Canada. Val tells Amanda she won't get away with her false accusations. Using psychometry, Ginny has a "psychic" feeling that Danny did rape Amanda and agrees with Gary to never leave him alone with the twins. Eric tries to work things out with Linda, who says she no longer loves him. Mack and Karen confront Michael about his involvement with Linda. Eric overhears and punches Michael. Eric packs and leaves. Linda moves out to her apartment and Michael decides to move in with Harold.
Mike loans Harold a lot of money, which he loses gambling. Olivia tells Gary she needs money for tuition, but instead invests it. Mac finds out that Pomerantz is living in Canada as Neil Strauss. He asks Tom to accompany him to Canada. Tom pretends to call Paige, but really alerts Oakman. Oakman sends Joe to Canada to kill Mac, since Tom won't. Pomerantz tells Mac that he'll trade his books of illegal loans for his freedom. They go to the airport and exchange books. Joe is about to shoot Mac when the police arrest Joe and thank Tom for the tip. Tom calls Oakman and says Joe screwed up. He says Mac has the books and is going to the DA. Oakman tells Greg that his pension fund scam is going to be exposed.
The D.A. says he'll look into the pension fund. Mack discovers that Greg owns Oakman Industries. Greg gives a press conference saying he fired Oakman and will restore the pension fund. Olivia makes a profit. Karen talks to her and explains that Harold is under a lot of pressure to provide for her and she decides to give him another chance. Harold loses even more of Michael's money in a poker game. Michael asks for the money back because he needs it for a condo he's buying. Greg's daughter, Mary-Frances comes to see Greg. She was working in a third world country, but came back to the States to research bio-genetics. Greg is really happy to see her and they spend time together. Mary-Frances goes to Greg's office. He steps out to speak to his secretary when they hear a shot. Mary-Frances has been shot in the head.
The Sumner Group is in chaos. Tom and the police question everyone. Greg's first wife Jane comes for Mary Frances' funeral. Tom discovers Paige had a relationship with Greg, and is angry she didn't tell him. Val and Danny move up their wedding date, and Gary implores her minister not to marry them. Danny tells Val that Gary attacked him with a bat. Val confronts Gary who tells her that when she gets married and the minister gets to the part about any objections, he's going to stand up and yell "Rapist, rapist, rapist!" Gary asks the William's to keep on eye on Danny so he won't hurt the twins. Gary asks Mack if he has any legal recourse, but Mack says no. Val and Danny elope with only Ginny and the twins at the service.
Both Michael and a bookie pressure Harold for money. Harold asks Mack to loan him $13,000, but when Mack hears how much money Gary has already given him, he says no. Harold calls Tom and says he knows who he works for, but will keep it a secret if he helps him out financially. Greg gets drunk, and the ghosts of Mary Frances and Galveston follow him around. Worried, Carlos calls Paige, but then Paula shows up. Jealous, Tom follows Paige to Greg's. Paige is angry, but Tom says he's never been in love before, and they make up. Carlos gives Greg floppy discs that Mary Frances had in Greg's computer. Police discover where the sniper shot from and due to garbage on the site, think he was there a long time, so Greg wasn't his target, Mary Frances was.
Greg discovers that Mary Frances had been part of a subversive group, and used his computer to look up shipments from Oakman Industries to Monbasa over the past two years. Val brings Danny to meet the neighbors. He charms them all except for Karen, who "knows" that Gary is right about him. Gary and Amanda sleep together and she moves to Phoenix to start her life over. Paige breaks up with Tom when he lies to her. Mac figures out that Tom is a "dirty" cop who works for Oakman. Willis tells Tom he has one last job for him. Harold empties Olivia's bank account to pay his bookie and goes to Florida. He leaves a note telling her to apologize to Michael and for her to have a nice life. Greg is shot.
Dianne berates Karen for bringing Eric on the show. Karen demands to see her own fan mail when she learns the station reads and responds to mail sent to her. Eric and Michael make up. Tom tells Willis he quits, but Willis won't have it. Later, Willis turns up dead. Baylor helps Mack connect Sumner to Willis and the disposition of poison in third world countries. Gary refuses to leave the twins alone with Danny when Val is not home. Danny wants to adopt the twins. A man breaks into Greg's hospital room and injects poison into his IV, claiming responsibility for Mary Frances and Willis' deaths before turning himself into police. Linda tells Michael and Eric that she is working for Sumner Group.
Eric threatens Linda to stay away from Michael, but she immediately tries to cozy up to him at work. Doctors indicate that Greg's IV was poisoned and the effects of the drug will not be immediately known. Karen meets Jeff Cameron, the assistant producer for her show. Jeff butters up Karen while sleeping with Diane. Paula admits to Karen that she is in love with Greg. Anne Matheson returns. Val is not happy that Danny has initiated adoption of the twins. Gary pleads with Val for them to tell the twins that he is their father. Danny violently reacts when Val says that she will not allow him to adopt the twins. Tom admits to Paige his involvement with Willis, but he says that falling in love with her has changed him.
Diane tells Jeff she wants Karen fired from the show. Paige tells Mack that she believes Tom has changed. Michael is unhappy when he and Linda are assigned to work together on a project. Danny punishes the twins for making "too much noise", and Ginny tells Val that she made a mistake marrying him. Linda is successful in her project at Sumner Group. Val notices a picture in Danny's wallet that he claims is his sister, but she later sees the woman and Danny's engagement in an old newspaper clipping. She learns from the woman's father that Danny beat and raped her. Anne creates trouble for Paula with Greg. Danny violently attacks Val when she confronts him with what she knows. She stabs him.
Pat saves Danny's life while a hysterical Val watches. Greg tells Paula that Anne is a lot of fun, and he doesn't need a mother. Anne hocks her jewelry for money. Val is comforted by Gary. To get ahead at Sumner Group, Linda tries to cozy up to Paige. Later, she assists Paige's top client with a personal matter and finagles her way into sharing an office with Michael. After Pat quits her job and says she wants to go back into medicine, Frank threatens to leave her and take Julie with him. Anne uses a connection to invite Paula on a out-of-town panel. At a hearing, Danny claims Val's attack was unprovoked, but he also says he wants his marriage to work. Later, he shows up at Val's.
Harold calls Olivia to apologize, but she says she's having the marriage annulled. The police tell Val that they cannot remove Danny from the home without a court order. Olivia lies to Gary to get money, but later returns it. Karen gives a fan attention, much to Diane and Jeff's concern. Paige is not happy that Anne is trying to date Greg. Anne suggests to Tom that Paige and Greg may have feelings for each other. Tom later proposes to Paige. Danny throws Val's possessions onto the lawn after she moves to Gary's ranch. Pat gets a job at a hospital. Danny changes the locks, insisting he will have Val's house as community property. Olivia joins Harold in Miami. A stalker leaves Karen a creepy note.
Diane tells Jeff they can use the stalker to scare Karen out of Open Mike. Both Val and Danny are unhappy that the divorce process will take six weeks or longer. Danny tells Bobby that Gary is his father, and he runs off the ranch. Gary tells the twins he is their real father. Danny is fired from his consulting job. Paula tells Greg she has a job offer in Toronto. Paige cannot commit to Tom's proposal, but she eventually accepts. Karen's stalker gets an autographed photo that he adds to a collection of other Karen memorabilia. A drunk driving Danny hits Pat in the cul-de-sac.
Julie lashes out at Val and later Frank, blaming them both for Pat's accident. She refuses to leave her mother's bedside. Karen's stalker, Wayne, ends up getting a job as a security guard for the station. When Frank learns Danny hit Pat in a rental car, he vandalizes Danny's car in the cul-de-sac. Frank visits Danny and threatens to hurt him if he ever gets bail, which does eventually happen. Diane questions Jeff's loyalty to her; he no longer wants to be intimate. Greg proposes to Paige once he learns she accepted Tom's proposal. Greg hires an investigator to follow Tom. Pat regains consciousness but later lapses into a coma.
Karen receives a letter at home from her stalker requesting an on-air birthday wish, then gets a call at work when she doesn't honor the request. Greg tells Paige that Tom is a thief, but she says she has dated worst. Anne steals Paige's driver's license, adds her photo to it, and uses it to open a new bank account. An accident on-set spooks Karen. Linda sets out on a plan to seduce Michael. Tom and his partner are accused by IA of stealing money from a narcotics sting. Gary sees Danny hiding in the background of a video the twins made while on the ranch. Karen's stalker leaves her torn photo with the words "I hate you" on her dining room table.
Karen is on edge with fear at the station. Danny serves Val and Gary with restraining orders. Anne secretly knows that Paige is set to inherit a trust fund from her grandfather upon her marriage. Diane secretly leaks news of Karen's stalking to the press. Gary purposely stalks Danny to annoy him. Karen says she will leave Open Mike after the press and the stalker's phone calls become too much. Karen receives flowers with live snakes in the box. The doctor informs Frank that Pat is brain dead. Tom is suspended from the police department and learns $100,000 was deposited in his bank account. Mack sees Wayne's shrine to Karen.
Jeff and Diane take down Wayne, who expresses shame to Karen for what people will think of him. Frank refuses to take Pat off life support until he can find a way to tell Julie that Pat is dead. Karen warns Linda to stay away from Michael. Wayne denies writing the letters and without proof, the police cannot hold him. Linda claims to Michael that Eric abused her. Frank punches Danny when he blurts out in front of Julie that Frank will be responsible for Pat's death if he ends life support. Karen's unseen stalker (not Wayne) puts a beef heart in a gift box with a menacing note for Karen. Julie threatens Danny with a rifle.
Frank disarms Julie. The threatening letter to Karen now gives police evidence to prosecute her stalker. Pat dies after life support is removed. Wayne accuses Diane of being Karen's stalker. Anne forges a blank marriage license so that she can have Paige's trust fund wired into the account she opened. Police find evidence in Diane's home that links her to stalking Karen. Val and Gary work together to get Danny re-arrested. Diane ends up in a psychiatric ward after she is found to have LSD in her system. Greg is the mastermind behind Tom's set up and gives Tom a way out of his trouble. Tom leaves the church before the wedding. Michael tells Karen he wants to marry Linda. Jeff is revealed as the stalker and is promoted to producer of the show after Diane's "psychotic break." He has a scrapbook of dead TV personalities with a blank page earmarked for Karen.
While in jail, Danny has found "the Lord." Upon release, he moves in with a woman named Kimmy who is also religious. Danny keeps going to Val's on the pretext of getting his belongings. He tells Val he won't give her a divorce, as God doesn't sanction it. Greg's poisoning is affecting his liver, and the news hits the paper. His sister Claudia Whittaker shows up, and Greg says "I see the vultures are circling!" Claudia's daughter Kate looks just like Mary Frances. Jeff gives Karen and Mac cell phones for protection and then experiments making a phone bomb. Karen goes to Jeff's, but he sneaks out, and then Meg calls Jeff's number thinking Karen's there. Jeff's apartment building blows up.
Jeff is presumed dead. Anne's livid that Paige's trust fund didn't go to her account, and she returns Paige's wedding gifts for money. Greg asks Paige to go away on a cruise for him. Claudia asks Greg's doctor if a six-month cruise is safe for him and the doctor says he doubts Greg will live that long. Tom comes back and confronts Greg with a gun to have his charges dropped, and tells Paige that Greg set him up. Paige is still mad. She goes to meet Greg for the cruise and asks if he's really dying, because she won't believe her good fortune until he is dead and buried. Kate gets a scholarship she was hoping for, but Claudia lies and says she didn't get it. Danny lets out all the horses at Gary's ranch. When Gary comes to the stable, Danny closes the door behind him and takes out a bat.
Claudia has Anne checked out and finds out she's broke. Anne decides to seduce Greg, but he never comes home. Tom stops by Greg's and sees Anne's clothes strewn about, and he assumes that they are Paige's clothes. Danny beats Gary up with a bat. Then he ties Gary up and forces him to drink alcohol. When Gary's nearly passed out, he puts him in a running car that goes off a cliff. Meanwhile, Danny's girlfriend, Kim, goes to see Val, and she kicks Danny out. Val waits up all night for Gary. She calls the police, knowing that Danny has done something to him. Val, Mack and the police find Gary's empty car. Danny is floating in a pool, dead.
Karen is overjoyed to find that Jeff is alive, until he locks her in the station and tries to kill her. He says Wayne was killed in his apartment, and he sent her all the letters. Dianne is there and calls the police. Jeff lies to the police, but Dianne taped the whole thing. Gary calls a frantic Val, and says the airbag saved him, but he kept passing out from the booze. He later talks to Karen, and Karen gives her famous "Pollyanna" speech. Paige makes up with Tom and moves in with him. Anne receives compromising photos of herself and a note demanding a million dollars. Danny is found dead and police say his fingers were broken, so they'll have to investigate. The coroner tells Val she's responsible for Danny's body and she's being charged rent until she has his body moved.
Paige is offered a promotion which upsets Linda Fairgate. Anne attempts to manipulate an ex-lover.
Nick suspects Anne of the blackmailing, and says that he is going to stay with her and go wherever she goes. Anne's upset that Marco only sent $20,000 for the blackmailer. Paige is angry that everyone at the office thinks she got the promotion for sleeping with Greg. She asks Greg why he treats her like dirt. He asks Paige to marry him, but she walks out. Greg is really starting to get sick. Karen goes back to work. Diane says Karen is an egomaniac, and that she got a new job and can't wait to leave. Police find a button by the pool where Danny was killed. Ginny decides to leave. Gary tells Val that his dreams have all come true and that he can't wait to marry her. They go on a family picnic, and the twins run to Gary yelling that something has happened to Val.
Greg gets really sick and Carlos tries to call Paige. Tom and Paige fight about her working for Greg and she leaves. Nick makes her sleep on the sofa. Tom goes to see her at the office and tells her she's a brat and a bitch. He sees Greg and punches him. Julie has skipped school since the day Danny died and the police think she saw something. Anne tells Nick the blackmailers called. They're to drop the money at a department store. Anne drops alarm tags into a lot of shopping bags, so all the alarms go off. Anne grabs the money and runs. Nick apologizes to Anne for suspecting her and is worried about what Marco's will do to him for losing the money. Val fell on her head, but insists she is okay. She starts acting strangely, but Gary thinks it is pre-wedding jitters.
Paige tells Mack that she never loved Tom the way that she loves Greg. Anne and Nick sleep together. She tells Nick that the blackmailers have called for the rest of the money and she's to meet them alone. Nick switches the briefcase with money to one with a bomb in it. Michael gives Linda an engagement ring. Julie tells the police that Danny showed up drunk when she was swimming. He slapped her and said he was going to have her arrested for trying to shoot him. Julie said she ran to the house with Danny following, and his fingers were broken as she tried to shut the sliding glass door. In pain, he staggered around and fell into the pool and drowned. The police rule Danny's death an accident. Val freaks out when Gary sees her trying on her wedding dress, and accuses him of lying to her when she shows up for the rehearsal dinner on the wrong night. She calls off the wedding.
Gary tells Karen he's backing off from Val, the "queen of her own drama". Greg collapses and Paige waits with him at the hospital. Claudia tells the doctor that Greg only wants family to visit, and lies to Greg that Paige and Carlos aren't there. Claudia's mad when she finds out that Greg is leaving the ranch to Carlos and everything else to Meg. Julie's friend Jason mouths off to Frank. Nick finds the $20,000 Anne stole, and admits there is a bomb in the briefcase he gave her. Anne has hidden it at Paige's office, but Linda has taken it. Linda seduces Harvey to get him some of Paige's reports, and then accuses him of leading her on. Finding out the briefcase is Anne's, she puts it back, and tells Paige. Anne has called a bomb threat into Sumner group. Paige takes the briefcase home. Anne and Nick decide to split the million, but don't know which briefcase has the money and which has the bomb.
Jason's father beats him. Anne and Nick take the suitcases to a luggage store and call in a bomb threat. Tom, one of the investigators, notices the suitcase is Anne's. He takes it, and with the money buys a one way ticket to Brussels. Anne and Nick go to Tom's apartment, but discover he's gone. Linda sucks up to Alex, who works for Calloway. Alex tells Calloway that Sumner Group is ripe for a takeover. Val tells Karen that Gary is messy and smells like a barn. The maid tells Gary that Val left and said she'll be back when "hell freezes over." Kate tells the hospital that Paige is her cousin so she can see Greg. Greg is very happy to see her. Claudia finds out that a liver is going to another patient. Since she's not yet in Greg's will, Claudia tells them if Greg lives, he will donate money for a new wing, so they decide to give the liver to Greg.
Because Julie skipped, Frank goes to school with her and sits in on her classes. She's mortified but they make up. Jason tells Mack that his father died and he lives in a foster home. Mack talks to the school who says it isn't true. Mack goes to his house and hears his father beating him. Claudia tries to keep Paige from seeing Greg, and meanwhile makes a new will for Greg with her as executor. Greg has his operation and asks Paige to marry him. She accepts. Nick and Anne get married, using Paige's name. Alex asks Linda for confidential figures, so she has him sign a contract that he'll hire her if she's fired. Gary and Karen are concerned about Val's behavior. A doctor tells them she could be having brain seizures due to her fall. Val gets her haircut, leaving the twins home alone. They climb up onto the roof to play.
Gary rescues the twins. Claudia finds out that Anne married Nick for Paige's money, and uses this to blackmail them into signing Greg's fake will. Anne finds out there is no money left in Paige's trust. Nick has to go to Rome but tells Anne he'll be back. Linda tells Greg that Paige's Calloway report was inaccurate, so she made another one. Greg calls a meeting at his hospital room and berates Paige. Furious, she walks out. Alex tells Linda that Greg has cut his company off and is firing their management. Michael wants to get married on New Year's eve, but Linda wants to wait. Carlos brings Paige her Christmas gift from Greg: a diamond bracelet. Mack calls the police about Jason, and he is taken away. Mack later finds Jason standing in front of his house, and Mack tells Jason he doesn't have to go in.
Paige dreams she meets herself as an older woman, and is miserable because she married Greg. Greg moves his sickbed to the office. He tells Paige he had a vasectomy and wants her to sign a prenuptial agreement, so she calls off the wedding. Mack discovers Jason was sent home because he refused to testify against his dad. Mack and Frank go to a poetry reading at Julie's school. Jason is there, and he's sad his father didn't show up, but he's glad to see Mack. Later Jason shows up at the MacKenzies. Anne decides to set her sights on Gary. Val goes to see the doctor, but thinks Gary paid him to say she has temporary brain damage in a plot to get the twins. Val replaces her pills with aspirin. She moves to the ranch since Gary won't let her take the twins. She gets in bed with Gary and starts to kiss him. He doesn't think it's a good idea and she goes off on him.
Mack lets Jason spend the night, but says that's not a solution. Dick Lochner tells Mack that Jason's lying, and Mack goes off on him. The next night Jason sleeps in the park. Julie's teacher Charlotte calls Frank to go to an art exhibit. Not sure if it's a date, he brings Peggy. Then Charlotte asks him out for a real date. Linda is really snide to Paige. In a meeting, Linda gives a suggestion that Greg really likes. Paige is fed up with her and complains about Linda to Greg. Karen offers to "babysit" Val. Gary goes to the gym, and is happy to "run into" Anne. Karen pays for a pizza with Val's money, and finds her pills at the bottom of her purse. Karen shows them to Gary.
Steve Brewer, a photographer, introduces himself to Kate and pretends to interview her. Linda gives Paige a report for Mrs. Richfield. Paige throws it away and has her take Mrs. Richfield's niece shopping. Linda gives a copy of her report to the niece, and Mrs. Richfield tells Greg she liked Linda's report better. Julie asks Frank to go out to dinner, so he cancels his date with Charlotte. At the restaurant Julie tells Frank she knows Charlotte goes there every Friday, so she took him there to get them together. After Val cooks the twins' hermit crabs for dinner, she agrees to go to the hospital for tests. Jason calls Mack for help. He's been beaten up and claims it happened when he hitchhiked. He asks Mack to take him home. Mack tells Jason that his father abused him too, and that he shouldn't have to live like that. Jason tells Mack to bring him somewhere else.
Mack and Karen go to court and ask to be Jason's foster parents, but the judge decides he should stay with his dad. Mack speeds off with Jason. He hides him in Val's house, but refuses to tell anyone where he is, so he's arrested. Frank and Charlotte go on a date. The doctor tells Gary that Val isn't responding to medication, but might get better on her own. Mrs. Richfield's niece Susie is hired at Sumner Group and does a terrible job. Susie puts through an account Linda was secretly trying to get to Paige, who then takes over the account. Steve asks Kate a lot of questions about her father and Claudia. He accidentally dings Paige's car, and Paige is furious with him and demands he fix it. Steve has a parole officer who says he needs to get a job and stay out of trouble, or he'll put him back in prison.
Claudia tells Paige about Anne's fake marriage to get her trust fund. Anne goes to the ranch to get a puppy, and is bored when Gary goes on and on about Val. Paige kicks Anne out. Nick finds Anne. He calls her Betty, and tells her to call him Dimitri. Steve tells Claudia he is her son and wants to know why she gave him away. She throws him out. Mack is jailed for hiding Jason, so Gary agrees to help. Val comes home as Gary is there to get Jason, and thinks Gary is hiding a woman there. Val questions the twins, who tell her about Anne. Jason's uncles go to the MacKenzies where Paige is babysitting. They demand to know where Jason is. One uncle punches Paige, so Jason runs out of Val's to help her. His uncles force Jason into their truck and speed off.
Mack is out of jail, and Jason's returned to his father, who promises to be nice but continues to be as abusive as ever. Jason leaves and his dad follows. Nick tells Anne he was traveling with a rich woman named Betty, and she was supposed to pick something up from her relatives. Anne pretends to be Betty, and the relatives give her a doll. Kate learns Steve is her brother. Linda blows off Michael to flirt with Greg. Val overhears Gary trying to have her committed, and leaves.
Jason is unconscious in the hospital, and his dad is put in jail. Mack stays with him. Linda sleeps with Greg and breaks off her engagement to Michael. Claudia refuses to tell Steve or Kate who Steve's father is. Anne and Nick try to find out if the doll is worth something or if something's hidden in it. The dog rips the doll apart. Val comes by and yells at Anne to stay away from Gary. Seeing the dog, she takes it. Then a man breaks in and demands a vial that was hidden in the doll. Paige comes in with security to kick Anne and Nick out, and the man is arrested. Anne and Nick determine that the dog ate the vial, so they break into Gary's barn, but all the puppies look alike.
Val decides to go back to the hospital for further testing. Anne and Nick finally locate the capsule, and it has a microfiche map in it. Two different parties want it, so they make a copy and sell it to both, for a total of $550,000. They rent Tom's apartment. Charlotte tells Frank she doesn't want a serious relationship with him, so he goes on a series of disastrous dates. Claudia makes up a story about who Steve's father is, but he doesn't buy it. Linda jumps the gun on a project of Paige's, and Greg reams her out but she decides to still sleep with him. Mack finds out he will be disbarred for hiding Jason. Jason moves into the MacKenzies, and tries to be really perfect and helpful. Mack tells him to just relax and be himself.
Jason is to have a goodbye dinner with his dad, but his father doesn't show up. Finding out their money is counterfeit, Anne and Nick decide to get real jobs, but both are inept and are fired on their first day. Anne decides to blackmail Claudia because she knows who Steve's father is. Kate is shocked to learn Steve was in prison. Kate asks Greg to hire Steve. Mort assigns Steve to be Paige's assistant. She's furious, and has hated him ever since he dinged her car. Greg and Steve meet and immediately argue, but Greg likes him. Paige and Steve get stuck in an elevator for several hours and they argue. When they're finally freed, Paige goes into Greg's office, only to find him with Linda.
Doctors discover that Val has a rare virus that is causing her strange behavior, but it's curable. Greg offers Claudia a job as head of his foundation. Mrs. Richfield wants Linda to work on her account with Paige. Paige places a sexy ad on a phone date line and gives Linda's phone number. Steve tells Kate his parents were forced out of their logging business by a big logging company, and his father was killed, and his mother died six months later. He said he got drunk and beat up the company representative, and that's why he was in jail. Steve finds out Greg owns the logging company. Jason's paper on an American hero has won a regional contest, and the final prize is a year abroad in Sweden. Jason doesn't want to read the paper, because it's about his father. At the ceremony, Jason changes his essay to be about Mack.
Linda's mother Doris is in town, so Linda misses her meeting with Mrs. Richfield to meet her at the airport. Doris is really bitchy to Linda, and decides to fly home rather than stay with her. Greg takes both Paige and Linda off the Richfield account. Paige and Linda continue to argue and insult one another. Val is cured, and Gary suggests they get remarried. Karen throws a barbecue, and while playing with the twin, Gary bumps into Kate, breaking her arm. Claudia appoints Anne to the board of the Foundation, so Greg knows Anne has something on her. Anne tries to get a copy of Paul Galveston's will and tells Nick that Steve is worth a fortune because he is Galveston's son and Greg's brother.
Anne proposes a charity for Claudia's group to fund - but it's really to fund her and Nick. Claudia knows, and tries to delay. Michael decides to quit Sumner Group. There's a fire in the Sumner Building, and all the exits are sealed off. Most of the people for Val and Gary's rehearsal dinner are stuck there until it's evacuated. Greg and Linda use the time "constructively", and he invites her to move in with him at the ranch. Steve apologizes to Paige and kisses her. Babysitting all the kids, Julie and Jason kiss. Waiting outside of the Sumner Building, Val and Gary decide their rehearsal dinners are jinxed. They have a very tender moment, and Gary even cries. They decide to marry that night. They go to a judge and giggle throughout the ceremony.
Paige tells Steve their kiss meant nothing. Greg assigns Paige to be head of Sumner Plaza and introduces her to Brian, the architect. He asks Paige to dinner and they kiss. Brian and Linda already know one another and sleep together. Linda moves to the ranch, where Greg tries to get her to play croquet. Gary, feeling bad that he broke Kate's arm, offers her a job at the ranch. Claudia's upset as she wanted Kate to work at the Sumner Group. Frank passes the bar and starts a new job at a fancy legal firm. He's mad when he finds Julie and Jason kissing. Anne and Nick steal a valuable piece of art from the Sumner collection. Anne wakes up to find that Nick has left her and taken the statue with him. Anne demands Claudia give her money or she will tell all. Claudia calls Greg and Steve into her office and tells them that Galveston is Steve's father.
Greg tells Steve that he's not entitled to Galveston's money, but gives him $250,000 and says he can either save his logging town or go to the Bahamas. Kate finds out that Claudia lied about her scholarship, and decides to move in with Steve. Julie and Jason go to a party, where a gang stabs their friend Paul. Frank forbids Julie from dating Jason anymore. Brian comes on to Paige and she sees he has a video camera running. She punches him and leaves. Brian then goes to Linda, who agrees as long as she can keep the tape. The next day Brian is missing and so is Linda's tape. Michael buys a van and tells Karen he is leaving to travel the country. Anne's landlord kicks her out. She leaves several messages for Paige that she is desperate, but Paige ignores them. Anne stays overnight at a coffee shop drinking coffee.
Anne sleeps overnight on a park bench, and her purse and suitcase are stolen. Everyone she goes to for help is too busy to see her. Steve decides to go back to his logging town, and Kate decides to help him move. Claudia goes to Steve's and hides her gun in his van. Claudia calls the police saying Steve is agitated and stole her gun. The police stop Steve's van and find the gun. Steve tells Kate that having the gun violates his parole. Steve pushes a policeman, and another officer shoots him. Linda can't find her tape, but finds the one of Paige, and puts it in Brian's car. The police question Paige as she was the last one to be seen with him. The officer calls his partner - and it's Tom Ryan. Frank decides to go back to work for Mack. The gang wants Jason to join them, but Mack and Frank beat them up and they're arrested. Karen is shot with a paint pellet by a group of teens, and chases them in her car. The teen's car is hit by a truck. The kids are all unconscious and bloody. Jason is in the back seat.
Kate blames Claudia for setting Steve up. Ann runs into Benny Appleman, who owes her money. He lets her stay with him, and they try to think up some scams. Linda secretly meets with Brian Johnston. Gary meets Joseph Barringer, a professor who is experimenting with how to capture ocean waves to make energy. Gary is excited by the idea, and wants to back him. While in Toronto for business, Paige meets Pierce Lawton, and is smitten. She waits by the phone for him to call, but he shows up at her apartment. Jason, in the hospital, tells Karen the other teens were the gang members who stabbed their friend. Karen tells one of the boy's mothers off, and then he dies. People make Karen into a hero for standing up to gang violence.
Brian tells Linda that his wife sent a detective after him and he killed the detective. He needs Linda to pose as his wife to get gold coins out of his gym locker. She does and he gives her the tape. Then Linda goes to his wife and tells her she knows where Brian is. Anne decides to pose nude for a fashion magazine. Gary and Joseph go to Greg to back their new company. Greg doesn't want to work with Gary again, but Paige is interested. Kate moves to a new apartment and won't talk to Claudia. The D.A. wants Karen to plead guilty for reckless endangerment, but Mack advises her not to do it. Val meets a waitress, Lynette, from Mule Shoe, Texas where Lillimae grew up. Paige and Pierce spend romantic time together and he tells her he loves her.
Pierce is interested in Tidal Energy, and meets with Gary and Joseph. Greg finds out Paige showed Gary's proposal to Pierce, and fires her. She decides to work at Tidal Energy too. Greg meets with Joseph about funding him, but he says he won't sell Gary out. Joseph asks Kate to lunch. Paige is embarrassed by Anne's nude layout. Val tells Lynette she will teach her to read. On "Open Mike", Karen's viewers laud her as a vigilante hero. Upset, she says she isn't a hero - she met violence with violence, and someone died. Linda tells Brian's wife where he is for $50,000. Brian follows her and surprises her at her condo. He's furious and tells Linda she spoiled everything. He stabs her and cuts her throat.
Karen's station insists she have Anne on as a guest. Anne admits on the show to being homeless. Karen tells Val she's lost interest in the show. Karen's producer Debbie asks Frank out, but he feels really old compared to her. Police tell Greg of Linda's murder. Val tries to teach Lynette to read, and they both become frustrated. Paige organizes the Tidal Energy office. They all go out for dinner, and are told that Greg has picked up the check. Kate tells Claudia off, and Claudia's really upset. Karen comforts her and invites her to dinner. When Claudia doesn't show, she and Mack go to Claudia's and find her passed out on the floor with an empty bottle of pills beside her.
Greg asks police to pull out the stops in finding Brian, and hires his own detective to find him. Brian is following Greg. Pierce breaks up with his old girlfriend Victoria, and tells Paige about her. Lynette wants Val to help her with her IRS problems, but Val declines, saying she's only helping her to read.Anne decides to do a call-in radio talk show. Frank and Debbie continue dating. Claudia has nightmares of someone needing medication. Kate thinks she faked the suicide, but Karen convinces her to talk to Claudia. Kate makes up with her, but says she still can't live with her.
Karen tells Claudia that she's been saying "Rosa" in her sleep. Claudia says she doesn't know a Rosa, but when Karen sees a letter signed Rosa, Claudia says Rosa was her mother's nurse but that she was used to calling her "Miss Barth." Victoria has a hard time getting over Pierce. Joseph kisses Kate, and they both feel awkward about it. Brian kills Greg's detective, so Greg asks Mack to make sure the police get him. Tidal Energy needs shoreline space for their experiments, and Greg wants to block them, so they both court a new member of the shoreline commission. Tidal Energy gets its permit, and Greg's disappointed.
Anne's show is a success, and she tells Benny that she's getting her own apartment. He's upset because he has fallen in love with her. Joseph quits the University to work full time at Tidal Energy. Joseph and Kate declare their love for one another and sleep together. Debbie breaks up with Frank because she wants a serious relationship. Pierce has nightmares of sailing in a storm with Victoria. Victoria tells Paige that Pierce has a dark side and will turn on her, but Paige doesn't believe her. Victoria tells Pierce she still loves him, and asks if Paige knows about the data list. Pierce tells her to leave him alone. Brian follows Greg to Meg's birthday party. After the party, he pulls a gun on Karen and Meg in the backyard.
Brian holds Karen, Mack, Jason and Meg hostage. He demands that Greg come over. They leave him several messages, but he doesn't call back. Brian sends Mack to cash some bonds, and starts to kiss Karen, but Mack gets back. Greg finally calls and Brian demands money and a car, or he'll hurt Meg. Brian has tied up Mack, but Meg unties him. Julie barges in and Mack and Brian struggle for the gun, and Jason is shot in the leg. Karen gets the gun and holds it on Brian until the police arrive. Paramedics tell Jason he only has a flesh wound.
Meg and Mack have a hard time getting over the hostage situation, but Karen tells Mack she won't live in a high security home, or Brian will have won. Jason wins the essay contest, but doesn't want to go to Sweden. Tidal Energy's life sized model doesn't work. Joseph says he can fix it, but it will take a lot of money. Gary decides to mortgage the ranch. Claudia receives an obituary that says Rosa Barth died. Victoria tells Greg she will give him information that will bring Pierce down. She follows Paige around, and Paige finds Victoria in her bed and asks Pierce why she's doing this. Pierce storms out.
Mack advises Gary not to mortgage the ranch, and Val's upset that Gary doesn't know when to cut his losses, and Gary's mad that no one believes in him. Frank misses Debbie. The radio station throws a party for Anne, and she makes them invite Benny. Benny falls down the stairs and pretends he can't move and says he will sue them. Greg tells Paige that 10 years ago Pierce took his pregnant girlfriend sailing and she drowned, but the rumor is that he killed her. Pierce disappears. His car is found at the beach, and Paige is really worried about him. Pierce comes home and tells Paige about the boat accident, and not being able to save his girlfriend. He says Victoria put him back together, but wouldn't let go when he didn't need her anymore, and that he had no reason to live until he met Paige.
The bank hesitates to loan Gary money because of Pierce's past. Gary yells at him for not telling him. Greg has a renewed interest in Meg, and Mack and Karen are worried. The Ewings spend Christmas with the MacKenzies, and Val tells Karen she misses living in the cul-de-sac. The power goes out, so they play football and sing carols. Claudia and Kate go to Greg's for Christmas. Greg asks Joseph if he can support Kate, and Joseph is offended. Jason leaves for Sweden on Christmas Day. Pierce sees a robe that Anne gave Paige, and is enraged thinking it's from Greg. Paige says it isn't, and he tears through her clothes to see what Greg gave her. She tells Pierce to get out.
Mack and Karen decide to let Greg be in Meg's life, but to wait a while before telling her she's adopted. Victoria tells Mack that Pierce killed his last girlfriend and gives Gary numbers to Pierce's former business partners. Gary calls and only gets bad reports. Val is worried that the stress will cause Gary to drink, and he considers it, but goes to an AA meeting. Claudia has Greg get Joseph a job in Massachusetts. Joseph discovers a major flaw in his design, and realizes he'll have to start over from scratch. He refuses to tell Gary, and Kate is angry. Joseph gets the job offer, but doesn't tell Kate. Alex, Rosa's nephew, shows up at Claudia's. He says he knows her secret and will be staying with her for a while. He comes on to her. Pierce becomes enraged that Joseph spent Christmas at Greg's and accuses him of giving Greg information. Pierce tries to choke Joseph, but Paige stops him.
Joseph quits and Gary is furious and punches him out. Gary has to suspend operations, but Val comforts him and says they still have each other. Joseph asks Kate to go with him, but she wants nothing to do with him. Claudia asks Greg why he got him a job in La Jolla instead of MA, and Greg says he wanted to ruin the company, but didn't want Kate losing her boyfriend. Greg buys a date with Anne at a charity auction. Frank sends Julie back east to live with relatives. Alex goes through Claudia's bank book and breaks her artifacts. Claudia cooks him dinner and implies the salad dressing is poisoned. Pierce blames Greg for the loss of the company and his breakup with Paige, and tells Greg he will destroy him. Pierce comes up to Paige at the Tidal Energy Ocean Site, and holds her over the rushing water, but she gets away.
Pierce makes charts about Greg, and decides that his first "line" to him will be Claudia. Greg offers Paige her job back. Greg and Anne go on a date. Karen's boss wants her to do a show about Gary losing his money, so she quits. Alex throws a party for Claudia where he gives her a portrait of her mother, Ruth Sumner Galveston. After the party Alex tells Claudia that he was there when Ruth tried to reach for her medication, but the bottle broke, and instead of helping her, Claudia just stood there and let her die. He says he has the cancelled checks that Claudia sent Rosa every month to keep her quiet. Gary is really hurting as the ranch is auctioned off. The Ewings move back to the cul-de-sac.
Pierce tells Victoria that if she gives him info on Greg, he'll sleep with her. Pierce chats with Claudia about Kate. Pierce goes to Paige's and packs. He throws her against the dresser and tells her he's after Greg. Paige tells Greg to get a bodyguard. Greg and Anne finally sleep together. Greg brings Mary Lou Retton to Meg's gymnastic meet. Mac, Peggy and Frank think they've won the lottery, and search all over for the ticket. They finally find it, but they'd written the numbers down wrong. Gary agrees to run the ranch for the new owner, but is frustrated when they don't see eye-to-eye on how to run it. He quits, so Val sells her wedding ring for money. The jeweler calls Gary, and he buys it back.
Pierce blackmails Mort into giving him information on Greg's business deals. Greg suspects a leak, so Mort tells Pierce he can't risk helping him anymore. Kate's old tennis friend Vanessa shows up and asks to stay with Kate. Claudia wants Alex out, so she tells Greg that he is blackmailing her, and that Ruth was in pain, so she let her die. Greg gives Alex a job so he can keep an eye on him. Alex asks Kate out. Claudia wants him to leave Kate alone, so she sleeps with Alex. Alex goes to pick up Kate, and tells Kate that Vanessa's really good looking. Val's publisher asks her to write a biography of Greg. No one wants her to do it, and Mack and Karen are scared of how it will affect Meg and Paige, but Val decides to go ahead with it.
Claudia wants Alex to move out. Alex flirts with Vanessa and they almost kiss when Kate walks in. Paige asks Anne to hire Kate at the radio station. Vanessa comes by and sucks up to Anne big time, so Anne hires Vanessa to be her assistant. Val meets with Greg about her book, and Greg is bemused by her earnestness. Pierce tries to ruin Greg's business deal, but it doesn't work. Pierce screams at Greg in a restaurant and is thrown out. Pierce buys a rifle. Paige has dinner with Anne and Greg at his ranch. As they leave, Greg sees Pierce. He pushes Anne and grabs Paige as Pierce shoots.
Paige has been shot and is rushed to the hospital. The bullet is removed, but her spine is swollen and she might be paralyzed. Mack tells Karen to go home, and he and Anne go to a diner across the street. Anne feels bad about being a bad mother. Claudia finds Pierce at her house. Pierce wants her to tell Paige that he didn't mean to shoot her and he loves her. Claudia plays along and he leaves. Anne is jealous as she watches Greg sit with Paige and stroke her face and hair. Anne tells him that their relationship is over. Vanessa fills in for Anne at the station. Alex brings Vanessa to Greg's office, and they have sex on his desk. Paige wakes up, but has no feelings in her legs and can't move her toes.
Val gets a call from a woman telling her she has information about Greg and Meg. Val agrees to meet her, but Gary follows, thinking it could be Pierce setting her up. Alex invites Kate to dinner. Vanessa's jealous, but says she knows he's doing it to get ahead with Greg. Anne does her show on Paige, and how much she loves her. Paige cries and tells Anne that she really needed to hear those things, and they decide to start over. Paige dares Greg to tell her he loves her. Paige starts to regain feeling in her leg. During physical therapy in a pool, Greg tells her she gave him a scare, and he starts to say he loves her. An orderly interrupts to bring her to x-ray, but instead takes her to the basement. Pierce is there. The orderly runs off, and Pierce knocks her guard out. He gives Paige a shot. She gets groggy and he carries her to a van.
Claudia handles Greg's business while he's gone. Alex brings Vanessa to Claudia's, and she catches them sleeping together. Val meets with the mystery woman Mary Robeson. She says that her son Joe worked for Greg and Laura had an affair with him, and Joe is Meg's father, but Greg paid him off. Val doesn't believe her. Paige wakes up aboard a yacht. Pierce is there, and she realizes he thinks she is Margaret, his girlfriend who died. Paige manages to leave her hospital bracelet on the dock before Pierce takes off with her. Greg hires detectives, and they find the orderly who helped Pierce. He says Pierce used his van, and police find it at the Marina, along with Paige's hospital bracelet. Mack and Greg take off in a boat. They catch up to the yacht, and Mack and Greg jump on. A fight ensues. Pierce and Greg fall into the water, and Greg goes underwater.
Mary tells Val that Greg is trying to kill her. Val sees a news story that she's missing, and tells Greg about Mary. Greg calls someone and said that he was to be notified when Mary was let out of prison. Mary watches Meg through the McKenzie's window. Greg tells Claudia that he can't focus, and lets her take over. Claudia berates Alex at work, so he takes Kate out and makes out with her. He tells Claudia not to get on him again, or he and Kate might elope. Pierce's body isn't found, so the search is called off. Paige is upset that Greg has avoided her since she's home, and she isn't eating or sleeping. Anne and Karen try to get Greg to visit her. Finally Paige goes to see him. He is watching the tape of Laura, and tells Paige that when he was underwater, he saw a tunnel with a light, and Laura told him to go back, but he didn't want to. He tells Paige she's better off without him, that people around him die. She says she didn't, and they kiss.
Val goes to Florida against Gary's wishes, where she learns that Mary Robeson was Laura's real mother, and Greg had her set up and sent to prison. She calls to alert Karen, but they can't find Meg. Meanwhile, Greg has threatened Mary to stay away from Meg and leave town. Greg decides to quit, and gives 33% of his company to Claudia, 33% to Paige, and 33% to Meg, with Mack and Karen as her trustees. Alex sleeps with Kate and tells Claudia and Vanessa he genuinely has feelings for Kate. Claudia fires him, but Paige rehires him, so Claudia threatens to tell Kate about his affair with her and Vanessa. Greg sleeps with Paige, but then pulls away, and says he'll be around. He decides to get away for awhile. Anne wants to get back together with him, and tries to find him when she discovers she's pregnant. Gary decides to build low-rent housing in Michigan. He's mad at Val and tells Karen if she doesn't return in time, he'll leave without her. Claudia puts out a memo to limit Paige's power. Furious, she leaves to go to Greg's. She starts her car, and suddenly Pierce pops up from her back seat.
Pierce pulls a knife on Paige. She jumps out of the car. Alex is there and punches Pierce out. Pierce is arrested screaming that he loves Paige. Mary returns Meg and tells the MacKenzies that she's Laura's mother. Mary gets a lawyer, Toni Fields, to obtain visitation rights with Meg, but she really wants money. Claudia kicks Alex out. Greg is at a remote cabin, but Anne finds him and tells him she's pregnant. He doesn't want her to keep the baby, and wants her to leave. She won't, so he goes off hiking and Anne follows. Gary is worried when Val doesn't return from Florida, but has checked out of her hotel.
Gary decides to go to Florida to look for Val. Kate asks Vanessa to leave, because Alex is moving in with her. Kate catches Alex and Vanessa in the shower together and kicks them both out. Anne says she is going to keep the baby, so Greg says that in that case they should get married. They return home. Mary decides to bring the MacKenzies to court, so Karen and Mac ask Greg to help. He tells them he'll take care of it. Anne tells Paige that Paige dropped the ball with Greg, and now she is going to marry Greg. Paige breaks down and cries.
Greg decides to pay off Mary, but she says it's not about money. The MacKenzies are mad that she told Meg about the adoption. Claudia gets Vanessa a job at a music television station, and Alex tries to get back with Kate, and then comes on to Paige. Alex decides to go back east. Greg is appointed to a task force to rebuild Los Angeles after the riots. He tells Paige he wants her and Sumner Group to be part of it. Gary is frustrated that he didn't find anything out about Val in Florida. Kate helps to comfort the twins, who are worried. Kate decides to stay at Claudia's for awhile. Nick comes back to town. Anne finds out that she isn't pregnant, but is going through menopause.
In Florida, Gary discovers Val has been kidnapped. He chases Val and the kidnappers in his car. The car that Val is in crashes and blows up. Anne plans her wedding with Greg. She wants a big wedding, but she tells him to keep it small. Greg wants his commission to sponsor a sports complex for inner-city youth, and wants Sumner Group to build the complex. The judge gives Mary visiting rights to Meg.
Kate comforts Gary and the twins about Val's death. Gary and Kate start to kiss, but he says he can't. A memorial service is held, and Betsy runs out, not believing Val is dead. Karen's upset over Val's death. Greg appoints Bill Nolan, an ex-baseball player to his commission. Bill antagonizes Paige, but she agrees to go out with him, and to back the sports complex. Anne confides in Mac that she isn't pregnant, but is taking fertility pills. Mac thinks she should tell Greg, but she doesn't. Anne wants Paige to attend the wedding, but she won't, because she still loves Greg. Before the wedding, Greg tells Carlos he feels like he's going to prison, and has a better idea. Greg lets himself into Paige's apartment, but sees her in bed with Bill. Greg then decides to go to the church and marry Anne.
Paige tells Bill she slept with him on the rebound. He still wants to go out, but she rejects him. Nick moves in with Claudia. She buys him an Italian restaurant to keep him in town and in her bed. Nick lets Vanessa know he's in town. She's upset and asks him not to tell her secret. He says he won't as his future might depend on her. Kate feels guilty about her crush on Gary. Meg doesn't want to see Mary, and Mary tells her if she doesn't, the judge might make Meg live with her. Joe Robeson tells the MacKenzies he can get Mary out of their life if he pays them. The stress is taking a toll on Mack and Karen's marriage. Mack asks Paige for a million dollars.
Vanessa's scared of being fired, because her ratings are low. She finds Anne's fertility pills. Bill receives an offer to play baseball in Japan, and asks Paige to go with him, but she says she isn't in love with him. Gary takes a job overseeing the building of the sports complex. Karen's upset that Mack won't talk to her. Karen tells Toni that Mary only wants money. Toni asks Mary, who fires her. Paige can't get the money, so Mack asks Claudia's help. She tells him to make up a phony charity for the money. Claudia gets a million dollars, but only gives Mack half, keeping the other half for herself and Nick's restaurant. Mack puts the money in a briefcase with a tracking device. He asks Gary to tape him giving it to Mary. However, the battery in Gary's video camera dies, so he takes a battery from a tourist. The tourist, trying to retrieve the battery, blocks Gary's shot. Mary walks off with the money.
Vanessa tells Anne she wants $2,000 a week to keep her secret. Anne's upset that Greg spends all his time on the committee and not with her. She learns that Greg had Bill sent to Japan. Anne falls off a horse and tells Greg she lost their baby. Nick gives Claudia a necklace. Karen's upset that Mack tried to set Mary up. Mack's upset Gary didn't get it on tape. Mary gives her brother Joe some money, but says she's going to see Meg until they give her the rest of the million. Mack's upset because he thought Mary was out of their life. He yells at her and her neighbor comes to see if she's okay. Karen decides to talk to Mary. She goes to her apartment and finds it trashed and Mary dead on the floor.
Kate helps Gary hire a housekeeper, and tells him that she has feelings for him. Vanessa's upset that Anne won't give her money. Anne tells Greg she was never pregnant, but that she'll be a good wife. Greg tells her it is a marriage of convenience, and she is never to bring up Paige to him. Karen finds a tape Mary made of her meeting with Mack. She hides it and calls police. They put Tom Ryan in charge. Mack burns the tape, but Mary had sent a copy to Toni, which she gives the police. Tom wants to know where he got the money. Claudia tells Tom that Mack filed papers with her for "Pacific Preservation Co." and forged her signature to get a million dollars. Police find Mack's fingerprints on the ashtray that killed Mary, and they arrest him for her murder.
Despite their best efforts, Karen and Gary are not allowed to speak with Mack while he's being booked for the murder of Mary. They retain Attorney William Reed to represent Mack. Paige and Kate try futilely to calm Meg, who's nervous that her parents aren't home. After Meg goes to sleep, Gary and Karen return to the house with no news about Mack. Kate and Gary share a tender moment. The following day, Karen and Paige go to the jail where they learn Mack fired his attorney, Reed, the night before. Reed tells Karen that Mack gave explicit orders that he doesn't want to see her. She's shocked. The women go to municipal court for Mack's bail hearing. They learn that bail is already set at one million dollars and that Mack is back in jail. Paige asks former boyfriend, Tom, for help, but he suggests Mack plead to manslaughter. Paige gets angry. Later, Detective Pete Reynolds tells Tom that he helped Mack give money to Mary. He tells Tom the money was marked and Mack is innocent. Greg has difficulties getting his urban renewal projects to run on schedule due to lack of cooperation from the deputy mayor. He meets with the task force committee and hears everyone's frustrations. Paige learns that Claudia provided the funds for Nick's new restaurant. Paige questions Mort about a million dollars The Sumner Group gave to an unknown foundation called the Pacific Preservation Society. He explains that Claudia said not to worry about it. Paige concludes that half of that money went to Mack and the other half to Claudia for Nick's restaurant. Nick visits Vanessa at the TV station where she just lost her job. She's packing to leave for Australia. He tears up her ticket and tells her she should stay in town and work at his restaurant. She's scared of him. Meg comes back from school, crying about the name calling she experienced because her father's in jail. This is one more bit of anguish that overwhelms Karen. Later, Karen asks Sumner for a million dollars for Mack's bail money. He effortlessly agrees. At The Sumner Group that night, Paige tries to break into Claudia's desk. She finds Sumner lying on Claudia's couch in the dark. He too knows where the million dollars went. He tells Paige to stay away from Tom. Later, Tom visits Paige with news about the marked bills. Then he tries to kiss her. She slaps him and slams the door.
Greg tells Claudia to return her half of the money or he'll make her disappear. Nick gives her the money, but won't tell her how he got it. Nick kisses Anne, but she doesn't want to mess things up with Greg. Gary hires Kate to work on the sports complex. She convinces a couple who are holding up construction to move, but they later change their mind. Kate kisses Gary, but he pushes her away. Out on bail, Mack investigates who killed Mary. Toni decides to help Mack. Gary gets a report that Joe kidnapped Val, so he decides to go back to Florida and asks Kate to watch the twins. Mack wants to go to, but Karen says he would be jumping bail. Mack sneaks out in the middle of the night and leaves Karen a note.
Greg doesn't know why construction of the sports arena is stalled and tries to bulldoze the Carters' house, not realizing they still live there. The incident is on the news. Greg decides to quit the committee and go back to Sumner Group but Paige tells him that Claudia will put up a fight. Tom wants to interview Mack so Karen and Peggy cover for him. Karen asks Paige to help, so Paige spends the day with Tom. The police discover that someone is using marked money. It's Joe Robeson and Paige helps Tom arrest him. Joe is questioned but denies killing Mary and says the money is his savings. Tom figures out that Mack jumped bail and wants to put out a warrant for his arrest but Paige asks him to wait for 24 hours.
Back from Florida, Gary tells Karen that Mary was really Laura's aunt, and Laura's mother died in childbirth. The police drop the charges against Mack, and they let Joe go. Joe meets with Nick, who tells him he wasn't supposed to have murdered Mary. Then Joe is found dead. Nick tells Vanessa he doesn't want Treadwell coming to town. Nick has Claudia open a bank account for "Edward Messinger" and gives her a briefcase of money. Paige asks Mack for his shares of Sumner group, but he says he doesn't care. Kate comes on to Gary again. He says he's not ready and she's pushing him. Mack hires Toni to work with him and says Frank moved to Chicago. Karen is upset that Mack didn't tell her about Florida or hiring Toni. He says talking to her is an inquisition. She decides to leave him and stay with Diana in New York.
Greg ignores Anne, so she comes on to Nick but won't sleep with him. Greg tells Anne his heart wants what it wants, and it doesn't want her. Gary tells Kate he has conflicting feelings, but wants to still be friends with her. Mack calls Karen but she puts Meg on. He and Greg commiserate in a bar and Mack says he'll give back to Greg the shares of the Sumner Group that Greg gave Meg. Paige asks him for the shares and Mack says he already promised them to Greg, but will give them to her instead. Greg blackmails Claudia to sell him her shares. Treadwell calls Nick and Nick tells Claudia she can't sell because he gave her the half million dollars, she has obligations and she doesn't know who she's dealing with. He also wants her to put a disc in the Sumner computer. Out bicycling with the twins, a van knocks Kate off the road, and she's unconscious.
Gary tells Kate that she needs to find someone younger and that he doesn't want any more children. Upset, Kate decides to go away. Claudia agrees to keep her share. Nick says he needs to know Paige's strength and weaknesses, now that she has the MacKenzies' shares. Tom investigates Kate's hit and run, and Paige tells him that there is probably a link to whoever gave Claudia money. Tom, trying to find Nick, meets Vanessa, and they flirt outrageously. Vanessa asks Tom for protection, and tells him Nick is involved with Treadwell. She says she was Treadwell's mistress, that he is ruthless and has a huge illegal empire in Europe, and now wants to take over the Sumner Group. Tom tells Nick he wants in on the action, because he can control Paige.
Diana tells Karen she should give Mack another chance. Greg buys a racehorse for $10 million. Anne and Nick decide to kidnap it and ask for a $4 million ransom, so they can run away together. Unfortunately, Greg insured it for $15 million, so he won't pay the ransom. Then he discovers Nick and Anne have it. Vanessa and Tom sleep together. She tells him that she ran away from Treadwell because he was bored with her and she thought he would kill her. She came to L.A. and Nick threatened to tell Treadwell where she was. One of Treadwell's men drops off a case for Nick at the restaurant. Vanessa pries it open and discovers that it is a high-powered rifle.
Greg has Claudia and Kate stay at the ranch where he's hired extra security. Claudia sells her shares to Greg so she won't be in danger. Gary tells Kate he wants her in his life and they kiss. Treadwell and his men beat Nick up. Anne tends his wounds and he tells her about Treadwell. A mailboy shoots Greg, but he's wearing a bulletproof vest. Tom brings Paige to his apartment so she'll be safe, and they kiss. Vanessa comes by but runs away, and Tom runs after her. Mac goes to New York and tells Karen he loves her, and that their marriage is worth fighting for. Mort tells Greg that the Burton Tech. data base is being ruined by a virus. Paige and Greg decide to fly there to see what's going on. Security guards check the plane, but one of them plants a bomb. Vanessa sleeps with Treadwell and overhears a call that the bomb will go off in 20 minutes. Vanessa calls Tom who calls the airport, but the plane has taken off.
Tom talks Greg and Paige through disarming the bomb, and they do with 2 seconds to spare. Treadwell is angry that the bomb didn't work and that Val escaped. Disguised, Val gets off a bus and dyes her hair brown. She has flowers delivered to Gary with a card that says to meet her, and "I've never seen the ocean." He has Kate watch the twins and meets her. They have a tearful reunion at her motel. He brings her to Karen's, who's shocked, and she tells them about Treadwell. Tom asks Paige to marry him. Nick begs Claudia for money and says Treadwell is after him because he didn't kill Greg and Paige. Claudia tells Greg she'll tell him where Nick is for $5 million and a job in Monaco. Greg asks Nick where Treadwell is, and Tom comes in and brings Nick to the station. Nick asks for protection, and says he doesn't know where Treadwell is, but knows someone who does. Nick goes to someone and says that Treadwell is out of control and needs to be stopped. It's Abby, and she tells him she'll take care of it.
Treadwell is going to shoot Nick, so Vanessa shoots Treadwell. Tom record it as in self-defense, so no charges are filed. With Treadwell out of the way, Val is free, and she and the twins have a tearful reunion. Gary tells her about Kate, but says he never loved anyone the way he loved her. Kate's upset and decides to go away. Karen and Mack yell at each other, and suddenly realize that things are back to "normal" and start to laugh and cry and kiss. Abby tells Greg that she is Treadwell's partner, and is taking over Sumner Group, because she has information to blackmail him. Greg has bought information from Nick and Anne that documents her and Treadwell's illegal dealings, so she can't blackmail him. With the money they made from Greg, Nick and Anne decide to live in Monaco together. At the airport they run into Claudia, who is also moving to Monaco. Greg finds that Paige has taken over his office, and she reminds him she owns 2/3 of the company, but he can have her old office. He says that if they work together, they'll need to spend nights, weekends, even vacations together. She dips him backwards and kisses him. The MacKenzies and Ewings are having a barbecue to celebrate Val's return. Abby drives up and says she heard Claudia's house was on the market, and walks into her old house. Mack shakes his head, and the rest stand there flabbergasted.
