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 DA wants Karen to plead guilty for reckless endangerment, but Mac says not to.Val meets a waitress, Lynette, from Mule Shoe Texas where Lilimae 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 embarrased 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 insist 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 frusterated. 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 Mac 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 Mac to make sure the police get him.Tidal Energy needs shore line space for their experiments, and Greg wants to block them, so they both court a new member of the shoreline commission. Tidal Energy gets their 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.

Meg and Mac have a hard time getting over the hostage situation, but Karen tells Mac 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.

Mac 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 Mac 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.

Mac and Karen decide to let Greg be in Meg's life, but to wait awhile before telling her she's adopted. Victoria tells Mac 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 awhile. 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 interrupts and stops Pierce.

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 Mac 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. Mac 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. Mac and Greg take off in a boat. They catch up to the yacht, and Mac and Greg jump on. A fight ensues. Pierce and Greg fall into the water, and Greg goes under water.

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. Greg meanwhile, has threatened Mary to stay away from Meg and leave town. Greg decides to quit, and gives 13% of his company to Claudia, 13% to Paige, and 13% to Meg, with Mac 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. Fur