Tony and Lance assist each other as circumstantial evidence implicates them in murder, but it is to no avail when Angela goes back on her word. Angela breaks her promise to Lance when she realizes that it is more important to protect her grandson than his father. Vickie and Eric's actions at the party make Dan face a dilemma. Francine Hope is able to help Maggie and Chase, who are then able to contact the lawyer who arranged the adoption of their baby. Richard is finally able to realize his revenge on Angela. When Melissa entertains as ""Veronique, the Slumming Socialite"" on amateur night at a San Francisco nightclub, she becomes all the rage.

District Attorney Wilkinson is highly pleased when Angela suggests he campaign for attorney general, with her help, if he agrees to convict her ex-son-in-law, Tony, of murder. Wilkinson digs until he makes sure that he can nail Tony. Angry at Peter for his involvement with Richard, Angela seeks a divorce. When Maggie and Chase are unable to find the adoptive parents of their child, Maggie pleads a mother's appeal in the media while Chase offers a reward. Gabrielle accepts Chase's offer to be in charge of his wine operations. Vicky has no one to turn to except Eric. Melissa continues her double life as a chanteuse.

As Tony begins to mistrust Kit, Angela ensnares Melissa, and Richard attempts to console Maggie. Richard plans a trip for Maggie to overcome her melancholy, but a ghost from the past interrupts. Melissa's secret world tumbles when Angela finds out about it. Chase decides to file for a divorce. Tony suspects that Kit Marlowe may have used him in order to remove suspicion from her. Angela offers Dan a new job. Lance offers hope to Chao-Li. Although Emma traps Karlotti with plans for a church wedding, her offer of community property turns him from a man in hot water to one who has just struck the mother lode.

When Emma and Karlotti's church wedding concludes, Emma discovers how great her husband really is. As the couple stands up before Father Bob for their nuptials, Karlotti's reputation as a lover is enhanced. In her attempts to bring Lance back home, Angela humiliates Melissa in front of Lance, Richard and Dan. Maggie and Chase search for clues to find their baby in Boston. When Lance discovers Kit's whereabouts, he plans to intercept her in his quest to help his father. Wilkerson reports to Angela that he has Tony ""nailed to the wall."" Vickie and Eric return from their escapade.

When Kit comes to Tony's defense, the gesture proves worthless. Tony's trial proceeds as if D.A. Wilkinson had scripted it, until Kit arrives at the courtroom. After Chase uncovers evidence that Melissa had engineered the botched paternity test, he is too late to intercept her due to Angela's threats. Chao-Li loses face because Angela and Lance stay up all night to take care of him. After Chase and Maggie decide on a quick divorce, Richard sees his chance for happiness.

Melissa's desperate attempts to keep the baby result in a car chase that ends when the car carrying her, Chase, Maggie, Richard and Dan plunges into San Francisco Bay. Angela discovers that her child, whom she previously believed to have died in childbirth, is alive and ready to return to haunt her. When Angela and Peter reconcile and she tries to buy Peter's freedom, Peter, facing murder charges, flees with Kit.

After Angela and Richard individually maneuver to meet the man behind the mysterious activity in the Tuscany Valley, they are both placed in precarious positions. Maggie can't understand Richard's reluctance to rely on the police. Angela forces Wilkinson to reveal Richard's ownership of lake property in Nevada. Emma, agreeing to write her autobiography, acquires a ghostwriter and personal manager, and heads for Hollywood. While Lance discovers that someone sabotaged his car, Vickie finds herself among the homeless. In conclusion, an explosion destroys the Gioberti home.