Ben lets Cathy move into his beach house. Lilimae blames Ben for Joshua's death, and decides to move in with Cathy. Kenny, Linda's boyfriend, tells her that he was there when Joshua died. Gary tells Greg he'll sell Empire Valley, and to call off the hit man. He says if anything happens to him, he's left Empire Valley to Mac. Greg tells Coblentz that Gary will sell, but Coblentz tells the hit man to kill them anyway. Gary sends the kids away, and makes Abby dress in coveralls and help him to carry things into the buildings at Empire Valley. Gary has the security guard call Greg. Greg rushes to Empire Valley, and so do Mac and Karen. The hit man is about to shoot Gary, but just then everyone drives up and yells to Gary to watch out. Gary activates a remote control, and all of the structures in Empire Valley blow up. Greg and Abby are furious, but Gary whoops with joy!

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.

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 he will clean up Empire Valley in 4 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 good-bye dinner.

Paige tells Mac she looked him up because her mother Anne died. He invites Paige to stay with them, but she decides not to. Jill and Gary make up. Val's distraught, and goes to the beach house, where she tears up a picture of Cathy and trashes the place. Lilimae, worried about her, calls Gary. Gary finds Val sitting despondently on the beach. They cry together, and then start laughing hysterically. Ben tells Cathy that he can't go with her on tour. She admits that she didn't want to hurt Val, but she's in love with Ben and wasn't thinking straight. Mac is out of his mind with worry about Karen, and has an APB put out to find her. Karen wakes up in a basement. Horrified, she finds she is locked in. She finds a tire iron and attempts to break a window, but a man comes downstairs and tells her not to.

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. Flashback Scene: Young Mac, Greg and Phil go to the Matheson's, only to find out they've gone to their summer residence. Mac is upset because he didn't get to say goodbye to Anne.

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.

Abby and kids 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. Mac 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 ID's him. Mac 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.

Laura names her baby Marguerite Catherine (Meg) after her mother. Val calls Ben's news service, and they tell her he's not on assignment for them. Olivia confronts Paige on dating Peter, and Paige tells her about Abby and Peter. Olivia and Abby scream at each other. Peter thanks Jill for burning the letter, and she throws him out. Abby screams at him for leading Olivia on. Paige throws plates at him and screams at him for not telling her that Greg is her father, and Peter laughs at her. At the Lotus Point Club, Abby hears Olivia scream, and comes out of the Ladies room, drying her hands. Abby sees Olivia leaning over Peter's dead, bloody body, and Abby thinks Olivia has killed him. Olivia sees Abby wiping her hands, and thinks that Abby has killed Peter.

After 5 weeks, no one can find Peter. Val grieves over Ben, and makes up with Laura. Abby's really worried about Olivia, who has been having nightmares, and has reverted to infantile behavior. Mack becomes friendly with a man from his messenger service, Al Baker. Paige goes to Greg, concerned about her paternity. He plants a passionate kiss on her to prove he's not her father. Then Mack and Paige discover that they are both allergic to cantaloupe, so he must be her father! The crack at the Lotus Point playground gets worse. Workmen say it's structural, and needs to come out. Abby just wants it patched, but Gary and Karen out vote her. The workmen remove the cement and find Peter's body.

Paige starts to work for Greg exclusively, and is frustrated when he doesn't pick up on her hints that she'd like to date him. A man can't pay Johnny and Harold money he owes, and gives him a diamond bracelet. Harold roughs him up anyway. Harold gives the bracelet to Olivia, saying it was his grandmother's, and encourages her to respect Abby. Gary invites the twins to a sleepover, and makes Jill stay in the guestroom. They don't include her as they play, and she starts drinking again. Pat is a doctor, and is testifying against another doctor who had mob ties and was a drug dealer. At her testimony, a man stabs her but only gets her arm. Karen and Mac see this on the news, and when Pat returns with a bandaged arm, they realize that she is the doctor. Val gets a letter that says ""Out of Danger. I love you and will see you soon. Love Ben.""

Gary confronts Jill on her drinking, and calls her sick when she tries to get him to drink with her. Karen is shocked when Manny tries to kiss her. In Mexico, Paige meets Debby, an archeology student, who tells them of a pre-Colombian dig. Paige tells Greg she can get him statues, and he agrees to finance it. Paige is upset to find Johnny in bed with Debbie, but they make up. Manny sends a goon to Mexico to stop the wedding. Harold breaks up with Olivia, blaming it on his uncle. Harold tells her his uncle is dangerous, and he can't cross him. Olivia goes home and cries on Abby's shoulder, and Abby agrees to talk to Manny about letting Harold date Olivia. Olivia goes to Harold, and Manny knocks on the door so he hides her in the closet. Manny tells him he has to leave, as Abby said if he doesn't send Harold packing, Abby will back out of the yacht deal. Olivia hears the entire conversation.

Paige and Michael find out that Johnny is working for Manny, and their friend Chavas is a DEA agent. They get on a bus. The Federales stop the bus and take Paige, Michael and Chavas. Abby and Gary fill all the slips in the marina so that Manny can't dock his boat. Manny calls Karen and says she'd better do something about it if she wants Paige and Michael to return safely from Mexico. Jill, in disguise, surprises Val. She says the letters and calls from Ben were a hoax, and she had the forger write a suicide note for Val that says Val found out Ben is dead. Julie and Frank come to the door, and Val nervously says she has to stay home because Betsy's sick. Frank remarks to Pat that Val acted strangely, like she was being held at gunpoint. Jill forces Val to take sleeping pills saying if she doesn't, she'll shoot Val, and it's better if the twins find her asleep rather than with her brains splattered all over the room. Val pleads with her, and Jill says she's sick of everyone calling her

Jill packs up and tells Gary goodbye, but then returns and says her apartment isn't ready. Mac goes to the mountains and meets Forest Ranger Paula Vertosick. They hit it off, and he is flattered when she invites him to spend the night with her. Instead he goes home to Karen, who realizes she misses him. Paige finds the engagement ring, and assumes it's for her. She buys a bridal magazine and Karen asks if she's helping Greg and Abby plan their wedding. Paige is crushed. Greg tells her she misinterpreted their relationship, and is very cold to her. She decides to continue working for Greg. Abby plans the wedding with Ted, wanting it to be a media event. Greg and Abby hold a press conference to announce their marriage and his candidacy for mayor.

Michael and Ellen decide to copyright their computer program, but Johnny already has. He brings it to Greg, who's interested in buying it. Karen and Paula find that Murikami is going to drill for oil in protected parts of Lotus Point. They take photos and document it in Paula's computer at the University. Michael tells Abby, who releases a virus in the college computer system, and it eats all of Paula's data. Val begins to write again. Karen tries to set Gary up with Paula, but he's more interested in a woman who accidentally programmed his number into her phone. She doesn't give her name, so he calls her ""Sally's Friend"". Paige discovers that Nagata is an actor whom Ted hired. He says if she tells Greg, he'll tell him she released the story that cost him the election.

On the way to the mountains, Karen breaks her ankle at a gas station. She has to stay overnight at the hospital. There is only 1 motel nearby, and she wants Mac and Paula to stay there. The motel only has 1 room with a twin bed, so Mac says he'll sleep in the truck. It starts pouring rain, and Mac has to change his flat tire. Then he is squirted by a skunk. Paige comes home to find her apartment trashed and Rick's key missing. Ted, who found out that Mort gave her Rick's letter and key, follows Paige and harasses her to help him. Scared of him, she runs to Greg's ranch, and Greg says he'll take care of Ted. Paige and Greg sleep together. She find's Rick's key in Greg's room as Greg wakes up. She's suddenly scared that he killed Rick, and runs out into the pouring rain. Greg comes out and yells at her to get inside. Ted is out there, and yells at her that what he told her about Greg being the murderer is true. Greg yells not to believe him. Paige hides.

Karen is upset that Mac and Paula shared a hotel room, but he assures her nothing happened. Eric takes a job in Saudi Arabia, and asks if Linda can live with Karen. Sally's friend turns out to be Amanda, the twins' nursery school teacher. Danny and Val sleep together, and then Danny goes to Amanda's, whom he also has a relationship with. Harold and Olivia fight over their finances. Greg tells Paige he misses her and wants her to come back to work. Paige is furious that Greg sends Ted to Japan instead of having him arrested. Riding down in the elevator, Paige and Ted slap each other. Ted tells Paige she's Greg's weakness because he loves her, and she should take advantage of that.

Ginny's off the hook when the money is found in Baylor's apartment. Baylor asks Mac to defend him, and says Oakman is setting him up because they don't want their books made public. Going through Jeri's jewelry, Ginny finds the money. Greg gives Paige his biggest client - the Richfield account. Paige meets Tom Ryan. Greg brings Paula to a company party, but Paula accuses him of using her to make Paige jealous. Paige sees Tom at the party, and they flirt and make love in the elevator. Michael doesn't have a date, so Linda offers to go with him, and they pretend she is ""Theresa"". Later they realize they are very attracted to one another. Danny's upset as Amanda gets ready for a date with Gary. Gary asks Amanda to go away for a weekend, but not to tell Danny.

Danny serves Gary with a restraining order, so Gary starts following him around and hires detectives to follow Danny when he can't. Tom and his partner are being investigated. Tom checks his bank balance and is shocked to find $103,000.Anne tells her accountant that she didn't tell Paige about the trust fund she'll get when she's married. The accountant tells her he'll send the money when he receives the marriage certificate. Jeff tells Karen that if she quits, Dianne will replace her as the host. Karen receives flowers that have snakes in them. Terrified, she calls Wayne to come over and stay with her. Mac questions everyone at the station. Since Wayne isn't there, he goes to his apartment, where the landlady is doing some repairs. He sees Wayne's ""monument"" to Karen.