Melissa loses control over her wicked power game when Philip intervenes and forces her to sell the Agretti harvest to him. Richard is nearly run down by a hit man as the cartel becomes even more determined to take over his racetrack. When Maggie interviews Sister Jeanette, an old acquaintance of Chase's mother, she overhears the startling news that Jacqueline had an affair with the head of the Nazi Gestapo in Paris, Johann Riebmann. When Cole returns home to find Melissa waiting for him seductively posed in his bed, he throws her out, but not before Linda enters, who witnesses the ugly scene.

Terry's dark, sordid past is exposed to Michael when Angela goes to extravagant lengths to run her out of Tuscany Valley. Angela pays Kate Mars, a former call girl buddy of Terry, to tell Michael the truth about Terry's past. Angela also exposes Philip's past indiscretions, producing a cuff link she found by the bed in the hotel room where Jacqueline claimed to have slept with Philip. Phillip denies everything and quits, fed up with Angela's manipulation. Chase seeks out another wine distributor and discovers that Calvin Kleeger served as a front for Angela. At the mental hospital, Julia, disguised as a janitor, escapes and starts hitchhiking her way back to Falcon Crest. Maggie discovers that the horrifying cause of her dizzy spells and headaches is a brain tumor. When Richard refuses to give the cartel control of his racetrack, hit men kidnap Pamela and force her to choose between loyalty to Richard and her life. Meanwhile, Lance stalks Richard, seeking revenge for his mother's menta

Michael convinces Chase to let him operate on Maggie's tumor, which has already taken her sight and may take her life. Michael enlists his former lover, anesthesiologist Lillian Heller, for helping with Maggie's operation. Lillian is a houseguest, which arouses Terry's jealousy. As Maggie is wheeled into the operating room, Chase wonders if he will ever see his wife again. At Falcon Crest, Angela urges Lance to reconcile with Melissa in order to produce a true heir to Falcon Crest. However, when Lance begs Melissa to give their marriage a second chance, she sees through his insincerity and coldly reminds him that she is the sole beneficiary to Falcon Crest and has no intention of sharing her empire with him. Philip adds to his winery staff by hiring away Angela's best people. Meanwhile, Pamela carries out Spheeris's orders to help destroy Richard, while Richard is preoccupied with trying to win over Chase to obtain his inheritance for the completion of the racetrack.

Just as Michael and Dr. Heller remove the last of Maggie's tumor, her heart stops. Working quickly, Michael and Dr. Heller manage to get a weak pulse, but Maggie is left in a coma. As Michael humbly admits that Maggie's fate is up to God, Angela prays for Maggie, Julia and Falcon Crest, and reunites with Philip, whom she believes she will be able to trust again some day. Meanwhile, Richard is crazed when he learns that Chase has turned over Jacqueline's fifty million dollar trust fund to St. Martha's convent in Paris at a time when Richard desperately needs the money. On top of this, the cartel's plot against Richard threatens Pamela's life. After Pamela is abducted by the cartel, Richard realizes that though he may have retained control of the racetrack, the cartel has the one thing he cares most about: Pamela.

When the cartel begins to carry out its plans to make a public spectacle of Richard's assassination at the grand opening of the racetrack, Richard, making a switch with the bomb, causes the cartel to explode its own limousine. Eager to please Angela, Lance promises that he and Melissa will produce a grandchild. Melissa learns, however, that she can no longer have children because of injuries sustained from the car accident. While the Giobertis believe that Michael and Terry are traveling to Mexico, they are surprised when the two announce their marriage. At Falcon Crest, Angela agrees to marry Philip. As detectives discover Julia's hideout, Lucas discovers Julia's true identity and murderous acts as she heads for Tuscany. Meanwhile, Lance secretly executes his plan for power using The Globe as his tool.

At first light, Melissa and Cole wait at the rescue base as the helicopters arrive with the survivors of the crashed plane. Angela disembarks, relaying the news that Philip Erikson is dead. The co-pilot and Michael Ranson were also killed in the crash. Richard insists that the cartel was responsible for the crash, while Chase maintains it was sabotage. Angela blames Chase and swears she will make him pay. At the hospital, Angela comforts Emma, and Cole watches over Linda, who is in critical condition. They talk of Joseph and their future together. As Linda professes her love to Cole, she dies in his arms. Terry, although distraught, realizes that she has received a sizable inheritance upon Michael Ranson's death. As members of the cartel meet in Buenos Aires, Johann, disappointed that the crash was not a total success, reveals that their ultimate goal is to reclaim a valuable Third Reich treasure, which lies buried in Falcon Crest property.