The cartel gives Angela a falcon statue containing a listening device, which the cartel uses to eavesdrop on her discussions about The New Globe. Terry receives an unwelcome visit from her ex-husband Joel McCarthy, who claims that they were never divorced. He demands $25,000 to keep their marital status a secret, but Terry refuses to support his drug habit. Angela reports evidence to the plane crash investigators implicating Chase, then calls in a favor with Senator Silverlake to put her spin on the F.A.A.'s report. The F.A.A. releases its report on the plane accident, and Chase learns that he's suspected to be responsible and his license has been suspended. Emma gives her stock in The New Globe to Angela, helping her take over the newspaper.

Pamela is surprised to discover that Richard's attacker is Padgett who pulls back the covers to find only pillows where Richard's body should have been. Padgett tries to flee the town, and Gustav is furious that Richard Channing has not been eliminated properly. At The Globe, Lance becomes publisher to the dismay of many of his new employees. The Board of Supervisors removes Chase as head of the airport authority. Joel McCarthy, out of money and desperate to support his drug habit, mugs Maggie at Tuscany Downs. She never sees her attacker, and later, Cole unwittingly hires Joel as the new transportation foreman for the vineyards. Emma hears Julia call out to her in the vineyards, but when Angela arrives, Julia disappears again.

In his quest for land adjoining Falcon Crest, Gustav Riebmann approaches Sam Giannini and when he refuses to sell, Gustav has Spheeris pay Giannini a special visit that night. Richard acquires the radio station KRDC, promptly fires the entire staff and makes Frank Taggert the new general manager. Chase and Maggie travel to New York, trying to uncover her past. Joel gives Terry written proof that they are still married, and it takes another $10,000 check to keep him quiet. Lorraine Prescott, Richard's stepdaughter from a previous marriage, re-enters his life, which is news that leaves Pamela stunned. Angela believes Richard's fierce protectiveness of Lorraine may be the weakness she's been looking for in him. Julia appears to Emma again on the porch, asking for money, but insists that Angela mustn't know.

Sheriff Robbins notifies Chase, Maggie and Cole that Sam Giannini has been murdered, apparently during a robbery. Lance uses his new power to exploit Sam's death in The Globe. Maggie starts work writing copy at Richard's new radio station. Stephanie, Richard's ex-wife, comes to town and enlightens her daughter about Richard's past behavior, warning her that he may try to use her too. Gustav offers Mary Giannini his condolences and threatens to kill her if she does not sell her property to him. Chase has obtained a copy of the F.A.A. report and is enraged that someone is lying to frame him. In Italy, after Francesca Gioberti faces disaster at her vineyards, she travels to Falcon Crest, surprising Angela and seeking assistance from her cousins.

Chase uses Emma's findings and confronts Senator Silverlake in Washington, D.C. with the evidence that he was bribed into faking the F.A.A. reports. Senator Silverlake confesses, absolving Chase of all blame in the crash. Lorraine demands that Lance print a retraction to an article that ties Richard Channing to the criminal underworld. Lance is more interested in seduction than retractions, but Lorraine strives to ignore his advances. Both Richard and Gustav court Francesca in order to get closer to her share of Falcon Crest. However, Angela and Greg persuade her to sign a contract for her share of the vineyards. Private Investigator Mike Harris informs Maggie that her real father was killed in World War II. Melissa tells Greg she cannot see him anymore as it will jeopardize her relationship with Cole, but Greg is persistent in pursuing her.

When Chase hears that Jasper's will is being re-opened, he becomes suspicious of Angela's motives and confronts her. Chase discovers that Francesca is selling her third of Falcon Crest to Angela in order to save her vineyards in Italy, but Francesca is confused since Angela told her that Chase would be pleased. Cole decides he loves Melissa enough to move in with her, even against his parents' warning. Richard tries unsuccessfully to keep Lance from seeing Lorraine and warns him not to hurt his stepdaughter. Francesca decides to throw a farewell party before returning to Italy. She performs the tarantella and berates her family for their greed and hatred. Jean-Louis helps Francesca by pilfering her agreement from Angela's safe. During the night, Gustav's henchmen tail Julia, seize her and drive off.

Julia has been taken to Reibmann's estate, where she is confined in what resembles a hospital room. When she comes to, the nurse informs her that Lucas has been arrested for harboring a criminal, and then turns on the TV to a newscast, which covers the arrest of Julia Cumson! How did they find out she was alive? Julia wants to know. Angela found out about her phone calls to Emma, the doctor explains, as Julia becomes hysterical. ""How could you do this to me?"" Julia cries. Things are working perfectly, Reibmann comments, watching from behind a two-way mirror. He's staged the whole scenario! Meanwhile, Angela has enough troubles of her own-both Francesca and the agreement have disappeared. As if that weren't enough, Chase turns over his notes to the U.S. Attorney's office to bring a case against her for libel, perjury, and whatever else she may have done to frame him with the FAA. Chase, too, is preoccupied with Francesca and her agreement with Angela. Melissa takes advantage to score a

Richard, thrilled with his one-third ownership of Falcon Crest, makes plans to acquire more harvests. He reveals to Terry that he knows Joel is blackmailing her and promises to help her if she sells him her harvest. In the fake hospital, Spheeris and Riebmann continue to torment Julia, telling her that Angela has granted them permission to perform a frontal lobotomy on her. Ben Landale, claiming to work for the U.S. Government, arrives at Falcon Crest with orders to look for Johann Riebmann. With Melissa and Lance's divorce finalized, Melissa agrees to marry Cole. Mike Harris, who is secretly working with Angela, finds Maggie's mother, Charlotte Pershing, and takes her to the radio station. Angela informs Greg that she located Maggie's mother because her compulsive gambling habits will create major problems for Chase and Maggie.

Angela reinstates Lance as her sole heir, cutting Melissa out of the will. Posing as her psychiatrist, Gustav manipulates Julia into trusting him. Ben and Chase check Falcon Crest for surveillance devices and when Gustav hears them discuss Henri DeNault with Angela, he orders Spheeris to investigate Ben immediately. Greg's advances towards Melissa are putting a strain on Cole's trust in Melissa. Joel returns the necklace he stole from Terry and presents her with an engagement ring. She hesitantly agrees to marry him in two weeks. At the Turf Club, Angela tries to make Charlotte succumb to her weakness for gambling. Chase keeps Maggie in the dark about his plans with Ben to search for Johann Riebmann in Europe.

Melissa, enraged over being written out of Angela's will, solicits Joel's help by offering him $50,000 to discredit Lance in Angela's eyes. Joel tricks Lance into meeting him privately and locks him in a deserted warehouse. Disguising himself as Lance, he uses Lance's Porsche to drive Angela off the road. As the real Lance is released from the warehouse, he is promptly arrested for the attempted murder of Angela Channing. Angela reveals her plan to Reardon to ally with Richard in order to get Chase to cease his champagne operation. Gustav orders Spheeris to follow Chase and Ben to Paris, where they are searching for clues to Johann Riebmann's whereabouts. When Ben and Chase are trapped in a set-up, Ben is killed. At Richard's racetrack, Charlotte begins to lose control over her gambling impulses.

Lance calls Falcon Crest to get bailed out, but Angela grabs the phone and tells him that he can rot in jail. Ralph Delaney arrives and says that The New Globe will pay Lance's bail. Richard wants Maggie to do a story on Lance and exploit his situation. When Lorraine hears this, she is furious and accuses Richard of slanting the news. Chase tightens security at home and purchases a gun. He learns from Herb Boutilier in Washington, D.C. that Ben never worked for the government and receives a phone call warning him to stop looking for Ben. Charlotte and her old gambling partner meet and begin to lose money at the track. Richard sends Joel to a drug rehabilitation center in order to get him away from Terry. Although Lance insists he was framed, Angela refuses to believe him, and he is again disinherited. Lance moves in with Lorraine at the Tuscany Inn.

In the hospital, Lorraine, depressed, misses Lance and laments her lost baby. In his jail cell, Lance reveals to Angela his fears about Lorraine's survival. Angela reassures him and promises that Greg is working on freeing him. At The New Globe, Pamela hands Maggie a cassette, explaining that Richard had taped all his conversations, and she had decided to validate his mistrust in her. When Maggie and Greg play the tape, they hear Richard and Judge Holder plot against Lance. Melissa breaks the news to Cole that she hired Joel McCarthy to frame Lance. Cole strikes back by informing her that her surrogate mother idea worked because Robin is pregnant. Due to the overwhelming evidence against him, Judge Holder is forced to release Lance. Ecstatic, Lance rushes to the hospital, where a judge marries him and Lorraine.