This great soap opera begins with a flashback to a party in honor of Channing Capwell Jr. in Santa Barbara, California in 1979. Channing and his older brother, Mason, are entertaining the guests until the butler, Phillip, gives Channing a note. Channing asks the maid, Santana Andrade, if he'll see her tonight. He then follows instructions to go to the Capwell study. When Channing enters the study, it's clear that someone was waiting behind the desk. The person points a gun and pulls the trigger. Seconds later, Channing is lying dead on the floor. ""Santa Barbara"" then cuts five years ahead in time to the San Quentin prison on July 30, 1984.

It's obvious to Peter that Kelly is thinking about Joe Perkins. Joe gets off the bus and is reunited with his mother, Marisa, and his sister, Jade. The mysterious woman growls, ""Damn! He's back."" Joe is disappointed because his father didn't show up. Marisa is happy to have her Joey back. When Rosa Andrade gets the gun away from Santana, the gun falls to the floor. Mason Capwell puts his foot on the gun, preventing Santana from picking it up. Mason asks Santana why she brought the gun to the bus station. Santana admits that she thought about shooting Joe, but adds that she couldn't have done it. She then starts to cry, and Mason comforts her.

Mason tells Santana that two people saw her with the gun yesterday. He reminds Santana that she had no permit to carry the gun. ""I'm here to help,"" Mason smiles. Santana doesn't trust Mason at all and decides to talk to a lawyer friend. Rosa feels betrayed by C.C. and decides to confront him. She wants to know what happened to Santana's child. C.C. claims he doesn't know and denies that he forced Santana to give up her baby. Rosa thought C.C. trusted her. After all, she started working for C.C. twenty years ago and mothered his children when his wife passed away. C.C. explains to Rosa that he had dreams for Channing and imagined that one day maybe Channing might even be president.

Someone is making a bomb. Santana is about to take a bath when she spots Mason. Naturally, Santana becomes upset and gets Mason to leave. Kelly sees Joe, and Peter notices how if affects her. He thinks something should be done about Joe. C.C. arrives with two thugs, and Joe gets thrown into the water. Thanks to a carrier pigeon, Ted receives a note from Danny and learns that Danny wants to go to Hollywood. Jade pays a visit to the restaurant Danny is working.

Laken has a romantic fantasy about Ted. John goes home and is shocked when he sees what happened to his house. Worried about his daughter, John wants Jade to stay with him. Jade refuses to make a choice between her parents, though. At the warehouse, the stranger informs Joe that he's the one who called the fire department tonight after the explosion. Joe reveals to the stranger, whose name is Dominic, that he found Channing dead with a guest at Channing's big party. However, the witness never came forward.

Joe & Kelly argue on the yacht, Peter comes in with a gun, Santana leaves for Acapulco.

Ted & Danny arrive in Hollywood, Santana talks to the doctor who delivered her baby, Peter gets hurt at polo.

CC has a cocktail party and calls Mason Channing, Joe convinces Jade to take a vacation.

Kelly reads some of Joe's letters, Jade arrives in Hollywood, Santana back from Acapulco.

Santana hires a private investigator, Augusta offers Joe a job, Joe breaks into the Capwell house.

Cruz arrives to help with the oil rig fire, Kelly asks Peter if he wants to move to New York.

Cruz in the hospital, Santana finds out her private investigator is working for CC, Dominic arranges a meeting for Kelly & Joe.

Peaches gets her purse stolen, Laken arrives in Hollywood, Joe & Kelly meet at the stables, Joe goes to work for Augusta.

Cruz goes to the Capwell house to rest, Peter and Augusta chat about old times.

CC has a party on his yacht, Augusta tries to blackmail Peter, Joe breaks into the Capwell house again.

Cruz helps Joe get out of the house, but Joe gets caught by Kelly.

Kelly helps Joe get out of the house, Santana brings CC a present to give to her son.

Kelly sees Augusta & Joe while riding her horse, cuts herself on the fence, Joe kisses Kelly, Cruz & Santana look at the houseboat.

Joe kisses Kelly (replays), Jade has a screen test with a sleazy producer, Joe gets drunk and goes to Augusta's, Kelly goes to Peter's.

Morning after - Joe & Augusta wake up together, as do Peter & Kelly, Laken wants to go to Hollywood.

Augusta follows Joe, Dominic tells Joe to stay away from Augusta, Joe goes to see Santana.

Joe & Santana argue at the stables, Mason & his secretary get it on in his office.

A sarcophagus arrives at the Lockridge house, Santana out cold after falling off a horse, Lionel arrives in Santa Barbara. **First appearance of Nicolas Coster (Lionel Lockridge).

Santana gets bitten by a rattlesnake, CC rescues her and she is taken to the hospital.

Danny goes to rescue Jade from the sleazy producer, Augusta cooks Laken's pigeon, Joe gets in Dominic's trunk to follow him.

Laken upset, goes to the Capwell house, Dominic goes to the cemetery, Joe figures out Dominic is his witness.

Lionel goes to the Capwell house to get Laken, Joe takes a gun and goes to meet Dominic.

Ted & Laken leave the Capwell house and go to a motel, at the warehouse Dominic admits to Joe he is Joe's witness.

Ted & Laken at a motel, Mason searches the Lockridge house, Kelly meets Joe at La Mesa.

Kelly and Joe dance at La Mesa, Peter arranges for the two-way mirror to be installed in the presidential suite, Jade in trouble at the movie shoot.

Kelly and Joe meet at Cruz's houseboat, Danny saves Jade from the sleazy producer.

Joe and Peter fight at Cruz's, Augusta and Lionel create their circle of truth, David Hasselhoff cameo, Kelly goes to see Joe at Cruz's and gives him the ring back.

Peter tells Mason that Kelly has seen Joe a few times, Ted & Laken return to Santa Barbara & invite their parents to the snack bar for a meeting, Joe sends Kelly flowers with the ring. **Last appearance of Peter Mark Richman (C.C. Capwell)

Ted & Laken meet their parents at the snack bar, Peter & Kelly fight and she leaves, Santana tells Cruz she & Channing used to meet at the gazebo. **First appearance of Paul Burke (C.C. Capwell)

Kelly missing, Dominic breaks into Santana's apartment and steals her letters, Dominic goes to the gazebo.

Joe finds Dominic at the gazebo, they find Santana & Channing's letters, Lionel watches Augusta & Peter in the presidential suite.

Peter records Mason and Veronica talking in the presidential suite, Cruz finds out from Joe about Santana's baby.

Auction for the Lockridge beachfront property starts, CC takes Santana for a plane ride, Kelly returns to Santa Barbara.

Bidding for the property starts - Mason wins, Dominic and Joe each visit the Yucca Dunes Motel, Gina & Brandon arrive. **First appearance of Linda Gibboney (Gina DeMott) and Scott Curtis (Brandon DeMott)

Kelly goes looking for Joe, Veronica juggles Lionel, Peter & Mason, CC offers Cruz a full-time job on the rigs.

Joe takes Kelly to meet Dominic, Ted, Laken, Danny, Jade look at renting the motel for a hangout, Santana meets Gina & Brandon.

Ginger and her thugs show up at Peter's and blackmail him, it's revealed Dominic is a woman, CC and Santana make love.

Kelly's dressmaker turns out to be Ginger, Danny has a soccer match, Mason says CC slept around a lot before he met Sophia.

Joe goes to Alaska to find out info on Dominic. **First appearance of Jonna Leigh Stack (Summer Blake)

CC's birthday, Peter plants drugs on Joe's bike, Eden flying on her way to Santa Barbara. **First appearance of Marcy Walker (Eden Capwell)

Eden parachutes onto the Lockridge property, CC hears the tape of Mason trashing him, at the sanitarium in Alaska Joe learns Dominic is a woman, Eden and Cruz "meet".

Warren burns some things at a storage locker and injures his hand, the cops find the cocaine on Joe's bike, Veronica denies it's her voice on the tape, Kelly moves out of the Capwell house.

Cruz tells CC he knows that Santana's baby is Brandon, Ginger tells Joe about Peter's past, Eden & Cruz meet at the cemetery, Lionel gets drunk and goes to Sophia's grave.

Dominic confronts Lionel in his car, Augusta tries to get Warren to confide in her about the fire at the pawn shop, the cops go to La Mesa to arrest Joe, Joe later escapes towards the ocean.

Lionel dreams of Sophia/Eden, Joe is presumed killed by sharks, Ted & Laken get "married" in class, Warren admits to Augusta he stole the things from the Capwell house.

Mason tells Ted that the things that were stolen in the robbery belonged to Sophia, Lionel leaves things for Eden at Sophia's grave.

Kelly meets Dominic, Brandon is missing and Gina tells Mason that he was adopted, Joe is picked up in a rowboat.

Joe wakes up on a yacht, Danny and Ted put a camel in Mr. Bottoms' classroom.

Brick arrives, Santana calls Brandon and finds out his birthday and realizes he's her son. **First appearance of Richard Eden (Brick Wallace)

Santana goes to LA and CC confronts her, someone is following Kelly - it turns out to be Joe.

CC and Santana fight about Brandon, Kelly realizes Joe is alive, Joe and Kelly make love.

Amy arrives, CC & Santana break up, Joe's funeral starts. **First appearance of Kerry Sherman (Amy Perkins)

At the funeral Jade tells Marisa Joe is really alive, Jeff breaks up with Amy, Cruz finds out Joe is alive.

Marisa tells John that Joe is alive, Amy gets drunk, Peter goes to the presidential suite with a gun to spy on Kelly.

Joe and Kelly spend the night in the presidential suite and Peter realizes she's seeing someone, Peter goes in with a gun. **Last appearance of Paul Burke (C.C. Capwell)

Kelly breaks up with Peter, Lionel accuses the Capwells of sinking the Amanda Lockridge. **First appearance of Charles Bateman (C.C. Capwell)

Mason finds out Gina is in Nice, Ginger breaks into Peter's apartment and decides to use Kelly to get money out of Peter.

Ginger wants Peter to help her kidnap Kelly, Kelly goes to meet Ginger.

Santana arrives in Nice, Ginger's goons drug Kelly after "knocking out" Ginger, Mason gets a ransom call from Ginger.

Santana babysits Brandon, Mason tells CC Kelly was kidnapped, Joe calls Dominic to help find Kelly. **Last appearance of Rosemary Forsyth (Sophia Capwell Armonti)

Dominic gets a disguise for Joe so he can go look for Kelly, Amy temps at Peter's office, the cops go to Ginger's but Kelly is gone. **First appearance of Judith McConnell (Sophia Capwell Armonti)

Ginger tells Mason some guys knocked her out and took Kelly, Dominic confronts Peter about his past with Ginger, Peter meets up with Ginger. **Last appearance of Dane Witherspoon (Joe Perkins)

Peter "saves" Kelly, Halloween at the motel, Joe goes to the hospital to see Kelly, Peter sees Joe. **First appearance of Mark Arnold (Joe Perkins)

Joe visits Kelly at hospital, Eden flashes back to when she & Cruz met, Joe tells Kelly about Peter & Ginger, Peter decides to kill Joe.

Dominic tells Joe the things Warren stole were Sophia's to cover up Sophia & Lionel's affair, Eden takes Lionel flying, Mason flies to Nice.

Peter tells Kelly he wants to help her find Channing's killer, Mason arrives in Nice, a minor quake hits, Lionel goes to the cemetery.

Sophia's "ghost" haunts Lionel at the cemetery, Gina, Brandon, Mason & Santana fly back from France, Lionel thinks Eden is the ghost.

Party for Marisa & John, Peter plants a fake note from Dominic to lure Joe, Ted & Laken planning to spend the night, Joe goes to meet "Dominic".

Peter shoots at Joe at the wildlife refuge, Santana planning to take Brandon to Rio, Peter and Joe struggle, Ted goes after Warren.

Peter is wounded and Joe is arrested, Ted chases Warren on horseback, Eden and Lionel at the cemetery, Santana and CC fight.

Earthquake! A major earthquake hits Santa Barbara...

John Perkins dies from injuries after the earthquake, Warren saves Ted, Augusta & Lionel trapped at the bottom of a cliff. **Last appearance of Robert Alan Browne (John Perkins)

There's an explosion at the Andrade's from a gas leak, Kelly trapped - she and Joe get "married", it's revealed Dominic is Sophia.

Kelly, Joe, Lionel, Augusta rescued but Dominic is gone, Gina arrives from LA, Mason promises Kelly he'll drop the charges against Joe.

Sophia visits the hospital to check on Kelly, Warren retrieves the coins from the cave, the Lockridges provide well water for Santa Barbara.

Peter goes into cardiac arrest but is OK, Eden befriends Matt, a young boy whose parents are missing from the quake, Kelly goes to see Peter.

Lionel follows Dominic to his apartment but finds a woman, Peter about to tell Kelly who he saw in the study the night of Channing's murder.

Peter tells Kelly he saw Mason in the study, Lionel visits Sophia's grave with the coins.

Peter admits to Mason he lied about Mason being in the study, Brandon having nightmares, Matt's parents are found.

Peter's press conference on TV, Joe is cleared, Mr. Bottoms arrested but Ted gets him out of it and they call a truce.

Amy learns she's pregnant, CC makes a statement supporting Joe, Joe formally exonerated, Brick decides not to leave town, Mason & Peter argue.

Peter falls into a coma after he and Mason argue, Kelly starts to tell CC what Peter said about Mason.

CC overhears Kelly and Mason arguing and throws Mason out, then disinherits him, Jade learns Amy is pregnant.

Mason and CC argue and CC pulls a gun, Warren tells Lionel about Channing and the party, Mason learns Santana is Brandon's mother.

Amy tells Brick she's pregnant and they go to San Francisco to see Jeff, Mason confronts Santana about Brandon.

Eden asks Cruz to teach her to dive, Brick & Amy meet Jeff & stay overnight in San Francisco, Santana & Mason fight and she pulls a knife on him.

Santana decides to leave town after Mason threatens to tell Brandon and Gina the truth. **Last appearance of Ava Lazar (Santana Andrade)

Amy tells Jeff she's pregnant but he says it's not his, Lionel finds Eden diving, Mason smuggles Peter out of the hospital.

Ted & Laken plan to spend the night on the yacht, they see Eden and Lionel together on the Lockridge boat.

Ted & Laken's evening ends, Mason takes Peter to a clinic, Dominic breaks into Lionel's closet to plant the note in the tux.

Jeff sends Amy a letter offering to pay for an abortion, Dominic puts the note in the tux and knocks Lionel out.

Liz Peale arrives, Veronica finds out where Peter is, Lionel & Liz plan to put forgeries on the Amanda Lockridge. **First appearance of Lauren Chase (Elizabeth Peale)

Dominic plants the coins in Lionel's briefcase, Veronica tells Mason she visited Peter, Lionel visits Peter.

Lionel & Augusta take Peter from the clinic, CC tells Eden & Ted about Peter's accusation.

Gina offers to be CC's secretary, Summer tells Gina Hank raped her, Amy decides to keep the baby, Lionel & Liz bring up the safe.

Lionel & Liz go through the safe, Dominic plants clippings of Channing's murder in Lionel's desk.

Lionel puts the safe back, Warren & Lionel publicly dive for the safe, Peter has a press conference & says he couldn't see the killer.

Party at museum for opening of safe, Mason searches the Lockridge house and finds the coins.

Mason finds the clippings, Lionel opens the safe and Mason has him arrested.

Mason tells Kelly that Lionel was arrested for stealing the coins, Dominic tips off Mason about the tux and he finds the note, Christmas Eve.

Christmas - the Lockridges have Christmas in jail, Marisa & Jade surprise Amy with a nursery, Mason searches the Lockridge house again.

Lionel & Warren discuss Sophia and the affair, Mason charges Lionel with Channing's murder.

Mason tells CC Lionel & Sophia had an affair, Liz gets Augusta bail money, Lionel realizes the note was in Warren's tux.

Cruz & Eden both end up at the museum to look at the log book, Lionel, Warren & Augusta burn Lionel's tux.

New Year's Eve - Eden & Cruz locked in the museum together, Danny & Jade get stuck in the snow, Kelly wants Joe to marry her today.