The bearded manager of a posh San Francisco hotel solves crisis for it's owner. Including a visting king, a rape of a prostitute by college boys staying in the hotel, a runaway husband, and a man who dies while eating his dinner.
A stalker threatens Christine, prompting Peter to move her into the hotel and assign her a 24-hour guard. Christine's stalker causes an electrical blackout in the hotel, gets into her room and tries to overpower her. After the electricity is restored, Christine comes face-to-face with Don Walden, an executive for the hotel's public relations firm. Don is about to stab her when Peter rushes in and subdues him. Isabel Darby, a young pregnant girl, sits in the lobby after leaving her fiancé, Jeff, at the altar. Isabel goes up to a hotel room to rest, then goes into labor a short time later, just before the electrical blackout. Mark arrives with a flashlight, and Billy orders him to look after the girl while he locates the doctor. Before Billy can return, Mark delivers the baby. Jeff arrives shortly after and assures Isabel of his love. British gentleman Tony Fielding, an old flame who courted Mrs. Cabot during World War II, rekindles emotions with Mrs. Cabot over a romantic dinner.
The hotel is host to a beauty contest. Among the contestants is Miranda Harding, whose mother Barbara, a former beauty contestant herself, has entered her reluctant daughter in pageants since the age of three. When contest judge Garrett Rhodes makes a pass at her, Miranda gives in, thinking she's doing as her mother wishes. A quarrel with her mother later prompts Miranda to take responsibility for her own life. Miranda announces the judge's retirement at an appropriate moment during the contest and wins the pageant. Meanwhile, Frank ""Squire"" Vance, a professional thief who once saved security chief Billy's life, checks into the hotel. Squire has designs on Julie, who is a clerk, and on the hotel safe as well, leaving Billy struggling with mixed emotions about his true loyalties. As Julie begins to fall for Squire's charm, Squire pulls a gun and forces her into the vault where Hal, a bonded courier, is removing two-million dollars in blank industrial certificates.
Security is tightened when rumor of an assassination attempt by a Middle-Eastern terrorist group threatens Israeli minister Jacob Ben-Goz, who is preparing for a press conference at the hotel, unaware that Troy, a would-be assassin, has targeted Ben-Goz's advisor Evan Paige, a state department diplomat. Meanwhile, Patricia St. Claire, a young mother left destitute when her husband walked out, believes that becoming a prostitute is the only way she can pay the mortgage on her home. Peter comes to her rescue by securing her a job with a greeting card company. Harriet Gold, with help from her friend Sheila and spiritualist Felicity, attempts to communicate with her late husband, Morton, who died in the St. Gregory Hotel years before. She is seeking his permission to remarry. Dave believes a guest, Herbert Pitts, is an important hotel critic.
Eight-year-old Amy is molested while staying at the hotel. Her stepfather, Phil Jamison, blames Hank Miller, a male college student working as the hotel baby-sitter. Frightened, Amy goes along with Phil's accusation, but Hank vehemently denies it. When Peter confronts the Jamisons, Amy reveals that it was her stepfather. Amy's mother, Carole assures Phil that Amy will testify against him in court. On a sabbatical from the priesthood, Chad Lawrence struggles to decide between the priesthood and sharing his life with a woman. A talk with his bishop doesn't resolve Chad's conflict. Chad later meets Gerry Howland, who shows him the joys of romance. However, Chad fails to reveal that he is a priest, and Gerry never mentions she is married; the painful discovery leaves them both a little wiser. Bellman Dave has overheard two men discuss the tearing down of the St. Gregory Hotel to make way for a fifty-story skyscraper. He informs Megan, and the rumor soon spreads.
Senator Tom Andrews has an opportunity to run for President, but his affair with newswoman Carly Knight stands in the way. Senator Andrews's wife, Gwen Andrews, knowing a divorce now would cost her husband the presidency, tells Carly that if Tom had to choose between Carly and the presidency, Tom would grow to hate Carly. After Carly calls off the affair, Senator Andrews announces his candidacy. Meanwhile, Holly Crane, Mrs. Cabot's niece, schemes to get Christine fired so she can assume her job. Holly poses as Christine in a phone call to Roy Iverson, Jr., offering sexual favors if he chooses the hotel for an upcoming convention. Peter tricks Holly into admitting she placed the call. Wallace Egan registers as Mr. and Mrs. Egan, but spends the whole time alone. The Egan's spent their honeymoon at the hotel, and though his wife died recently, Egan has returned for their anniversary.
Peter is torn between fear and desire when his ex-wife Janet arrives at the hotel and is determined to reconcile and prove she is no longer an alcoholic. After setbacks prompt Janet to drink again, Peter has to rescue her from a suicide attempt. Janet decides to leave the next morning. She tells Peter about a special anniversary cake the members of Alcoholics Anonymous receive after one year sober. Peter promises to help her celebrate that anniversary. Penny sets up her sister Nancy Domenico with a blind date, who stands her up when he sees that she's rather plain. After Christine urges Mark to find her a date, Mark promises Leo Cooney, a hotel worker, two Saturdays for taking Nancy out. Despite that the date goes well, Nancy learns that Leo was bribed, and she runs away. However, Leo finds her and they reconcile. An elderly couple, Donald Brakwell and Edith Krause sneak away from a retirement home and use their son's credit card to live it up.
A convention of white supremacists led by Russell Slocum antagonize two elderly African-Americans, Carrie and Garland Fisk, who are on a long-delayed honeymoon. The Fisks return from shopping to find their room has been broken into and trashed. Pushed too far, Garland, disguised as a waiter, slips into the banquet room and flings a tray of food at Slocum. Peter informs Slocum that two of the hotel's chambermaids saw members of his group break into the Fisk's room. Peter packs the racists' bags and gives them a small refund, with a reimbursement for the Fisk's deducted. An overprotective mother, Helen Scofield, seeks psychiatric treatment for her 21-year-old daughter, Andrea, who has been mute since seeing her father burn to death. After a doctor recommends institutionalizing Andrea, the young woman wanders away from the hotel and befriends a street mime named Michael. With Michael's encouragement, Andrea speaks for the first time in ten years and begs Michael not to leave her.
Nick Tomasino, the son of a poor family whom Mrs. Cabot has allowed to stay at the hotel after a fire destroyed their home, befriends Donna Corry, a young woman from a wealthy family. Donna showers Nick with gifts shoplifted from the hotel's stores. When Nick tries to return a stolen gift discreetly, Peter and Billy spot him and accuse him of shoplifting. The shop-owner doesn't press charges, but notifies Nick's father. When Jonathan Corry finds a variety of stolen items in his daughter's room, Donna claims they belong to Nick. Mr. Corry relies on his instincts and tells Nick's father that Nick has been trying to protect his kleptomaniac daughter. Zan Elliott, a female playwright, invites her best friend, Eileen Weston, to her opening night in San Francisco, and reveals that she is gay. Eileen is incredulous and cannot treat Zan in the same way as in the past. Eileen spends the night with a male hotel guest, whom she cares nothing about.
Junior hotel executive Hillary Lindamont becomes starry-eyed over Michael Robson, which depresses Mark, who has a crush on Hillary. Michael videotapes sex with Hillary and threatens to use it to accuse the hotel of running a brothel. Peter pays the ransom, but Billy picks Michael's pocket and recovers the money. Peter follows the blackmailer and punches him out. A ten-year-old street kid, Cat Locatelli, sneaks into a hotel suite and begins to live off room service. Billy catches Cat, but is sympathetic, having once been on the streets himself. A well-intentioned social worker arrives to escort Cat to a children's home in the country. Cat feels betrayed, but Billy tells him he has to grow up to become a man. Milly Toland, a permanent resident of the hotel, wants to celebrate her birthday with her socialite daughter, Louise, and lawyer son, Rob, but her children leave early, leaving only Mrs. Cabot when the time comes for Milly to cut the cake.
Leslie DeVeer, the owner of a hotel chain, seeks revenge against Mrs. Cabot; Leslie has never forgiven Mrs. Cabot for marrying the man Leslie loved. Leslie offers to make Peter the top executive of her six Caribbean luxury hotels. Angry that Leslie would make the offer to someone she'd just met, Craig Chase, Leslie's right-hand man, packs up and leaves. Peter meets with both women and tells them he can't accept Leslie's offer, since he knows it has to do with their rivalry. Journalist J.J. Powell intends to get an exclusive story from publicity-shy rocker Diz Wilder. Minus his wig and redheaded band, Diz Wilder sets off for a day of sightseeing, dressed neatly in a tweed jacket. Without letting on that she's a journalist, J.J. manages to meet Diz, who claims to be a travel agent. After spending the entire day and night together, J.J. refuses to expose Diz, but her editor publishes the article anyway.
Christmas draws near as Susan Walker, a divorcee, checks in with her daughter, Lisa, at the same time that Paul Manning is rehearsing his ingenious robot, Tim. Lisa decides Paul should marry her mom. Lisa kidnaps the robot then insists that Paul join them for Christmas Eve at Grandma's house, where Lisa's matchmaking is a success. Christine hires Nicholas Edmund, a jovial old codger, to play Santa Claus for guests. When he requests a small advance, she borrows a ten-dollar bill from Peter, who is later distressed because the ten-dollar bill carried a girlfriend's phone number. Serendipitously, Peter's ten-dollar bill later returns to him, having passed through several hands. Lonely schoolteacher Agnes Simpson seeks yuletide companionship and discovers her former schoolmate Mrs. Cabot, who moves the employee party to Agnes's room. Room service attendant Ray Follard is forced by his bullying brother, Pike, to cooperate in a burglary scheme.
Fashion designer Nolan Miller and his fashion show director, Sally, set up for a gala. Diana Aikins, a model who is losing her youthful look, runs into wealthy Australian rancher Cody Blake, with whom she once had a brief romance. Cody persistently attempts to woo Diana, but Diana, who is up for an assignment with a new perfume line, has no desire to move to Australia. Learning that the perfume company will accept Diana only if she agrees to a face-lift, Cody proposes marriage and Diana accepts, leaving Christine to substitute for her at the fashion show. Dave and Megan are expecting a child, though Megan fears they cannot afford parenthood and should discuss an abortion. However, they learn the hospital was in error: Megan isn't pregnant. Peter is smitten by Alison Brunel after dinner at Alison's townhouse leads to a delightful night of love. Peter and Alison appear to be falling for each other when Alison reveals that she is in a celibate marriage with a wheelchair-bound husband.
When Lauren Chapman gives her daughter, Darcy, a weekend at the hotel as a birthday gift, Darcy secretly invites her dad, Dr. Frank Chapman, to join the celebration. However, the teenager is distressed to learn she can't mend their broken marriage. Mrs. Cabot convinces Darcy she can never decide how others shall live. Harry Gilford tries unsuccessfully to frame an accident so that he and his wife can enjoy a second honeymoon at the hotel's expense. After several failed attempts, Harry confesses his scheme, then promptly saves a matronly hotel guest from injury in a real accident. The grateful hotel management rewards Harry and his wife with a free stay. The drab, plain-looking guest, Mary Morowsky, is smitten with Peter. Once in her room, she puts herself through a weird sexual ritual in his honor. From that evening on, Mary's blonde and sexy split personality "Monique" desperately tries to seduce Peter. When Peter resists, Monique attacks Peter with a pair of scissors.
Prince Eric, a handsome and young member of Scandinavian royalty, has a chance meeting with Kathleen, the Irish maid traveling with the wealthy Jenks family. Entranced by her beauty, he invites her to a charity ball. Kathleen accepts, but doesn't learn until later about Eric's royal background. When Peter's date for the charity ball cancels, he asks Christine to take her place. Christine refuses, and Peter realizes how rude his invitation sounded. After Peter apologizes and asks Christine again, the two spend a pleasant evening together. Kathleen and Prince Eric dance together all evening, but when the prince begins speaking romantically of their future, Kathleen, who realizes their worlds are far apart, leaves in tears. The next morning, Eric finds Kathleen and proposes marriage, and Kathleen accepts. Meanwhile, Andy Harrington, who attends law school with the bellman, Dave, walks in on his mother, Barbara, as her new fiancé, Frank, injects her with cocaine.
The spoiled daughter of a tycoon, Brooke Whitfield phones her father, E.G. Whitfield, and asks for money. Instead of wiring cash, her father sends Bill Tillery to escort her back to New York. However, heavy fog closes the airport, and Bill is forced to share Brooke's room. The next day, Brooke accompanies Bill to a business meeting and rescues the negotiation of a merger. After Brooke and Bill fall in love, E.G. grants Bill permission for Brooke's hand in marriage, but Brooke is angry with Bill for leaving her out of the decision. Later, they reconcile, and Brooke accepts. While throwing a bar mitzvah for his nephew, Joe Freilich recognizes the former commandant of his Nazi concentration camp, a man called Spengler. After the man insists his name is Alex Huff, Joe attends Huff's stockholder meeting carrying a pistol. At gunpoint, Huff admits his Nazi past and is taken into custody by two men from the Justice Department.
Ed Curwin (STEVE KANALY), owner of a trucking company, has little time for his bookish, 16-year-old son Ron (LANCE KERWIN). Worried about his son's manliness, Ed sets Ron up with Claire Thompson (PHYLLIS DAVIS), a prostitute. Ron rebuffs the hooker, who arranges for him to meet a younger prostitute in the hotel lounge. However, Ron accidentally approaches a vice-squad officer (ANN GILLESPIE), and Ed ends up sharing a jail cell with his very angry son. Peter bails them out and convinces Ron to work things out with his father. Christine discovers that Karen (CARLENE WATKINS) and Sam (TOM SMOTHERS), two bickering hotel boutique employees, are old pen pals and don't know it. Mark inherits an unclaimed diamond bracelet worth $50,000, which he found three months ago and turned in to hotel security. Mark gloats about how he'll spend the money, until a woman arrives at the St. Gregory Hotel and claims the bracelet. Mark reluctantly hands it to her.
The St. Gregory Hotel prepares for the elaborate wedding of Maggie Blackwood (MARY CROSBY), daughter of an aristocratic San Francisco family, and Jeff Strider (BOYD GAINES), adopted son of Gil Strider (STEVE FORREST), a computer manufacturer. However, prenuptial jitters set in and Jeff tries to deal with the anger he feels toward the mother he never knew who gave him up for adoption. On the eve of the wedding, Maggie's father, Lewis Blackwood (ROBERT STACK), is caught by his wife Eleanor (DINA MERRILL) with a Blackwood Company Executive, Paula (PATRICIA McCORMACK). Meanwhile, the groom's father is facing financial ruin as a result of his business partner's illegal stock manipulations. When Gil asks Mrs. Cabot for a temporary secretary, she arranges for the services of Teresa Clayborne (VERA MILES), whose expensive clothes seem out of range for a secretary.
Jennifer and Brad Koburg are in town so that Jennifer can be artificially inseminated because Brad's sperm count is too low. After one too many glasses of wine at dinner, Brad suggests to their old college friends, Dana and Skip Peterson, that Skip donate sperm. Dana tells Brad that he impregnated her when they were in college, and she had an abortion. Christine meets an ailing hotel guest, John White, who suffers from an unexplained concussion and amnesia. They share an instant rapport, and Christine invites John to the ballet. As the evening comes to a close, John confesses that he's lost his memory and doesn't really know who he is. After John reads about a jewelry store robbery and murder, he notices that he's carrying diamonds. John explains to Christine that he may have been involved with the crime. After Christine doubts that John is a criminal, they discover that John was the gem dealer at the crime scene. Relieved, John and Christine fall into each other's arms.
A former girlfriend, Lacey Grant, informs Peter that he is the father of her four-year-old son; she wants Peter to assume custody. Lacey has Lou Gehrig's Disease and may die soon. Lacey's boyfriend, Walt, asks Peter to refuse custody, since Walt wants to look after the boy. Lacey thinks Walt travels too much to be a single father, but Walt promises to settle down and proposes marriage to Lacey, who accepts. Billy woos Julie on behalf of another staff member, Ken, who is too shy to approach Julie himself. Julie misunderstands and thinks Billy is asking her out. Eventually, Julie realizes that Ken is her secret admirer and is charmed by his quiet adoration. Joanne Maxwell, an award-winning singer, encourages her ex-husband Danny to make a comeback now that he has defeated his cocaine habit. However, Danny is very nervous about performing again. Noticing Danny's anxiety, the pianist-conductor, Bix Coleman, leaves a bag of cocaine with Danny in his dressing room.
Actress Anna Bronti, wearing the Star of Kasmir necklace, meets former lover, Adam Vidocq, an international playboy and jewel thief. Peter knows Vidocq and instructs Billy to keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Marila Collins introduces herself to Peter, who has the feeling he's met her before. Vidocq sleeps with Anna, and Marila sleeps with Peter; this is part of a successful scheme to steal Anna's jewels. When Peter catches Marila with the jewels, he realizes that she is Vidocq's daughter. Jill Stanton is reunited with her husband Paul, just released from a mental hospital for violence that included beating Jill. During Paul's hospitalization, Jill fell in love with her co-worker Ron Bownan, and now both are afraid to tell Paul. However, Paul controls his anger and explains to Ron his deep love for Jill. Paul and Jill agree to commit to their marriage and take it one day at a time.
Adele Ellsworth, her two sons Luther and Brendon, and another family member, Edgar, hold Mrs. Cabot, Peter and Christine at gunpoint and demand justice for Adele's husband, Ellis, a workman who died at the hotel two years before. They accuse Mrs. Cabot of forcing the workers to continue working into the night, leading Ellis to become exhausted and fall off the building. Contradicting Edgar's version of events, Mrs. Cabot points out that the foreman never warned her of safety dangers. Eventually, Edgar admits that he lied to the family, because Ellis had fallen after getting drunk during an afternoon tryst with another woman. Billy introduces Mark to a discotheque go-go girl, Doris O'Neil, whom Mark recognizes from his health club. Doris aspires to be an interior designer and has told her family that she is decorating the hotel. She needs Mark's help to corroborate her story, and also to make it look like she and Mark are dating, another fib she has told her family.
Movie producer Steve Cutler blackmails Lauren Webb with the fact that Lauren appeared in some of his soft-core pornographic films many years ago. Steve threatens to reveal Lauren's past if she doesn't find money to back his next film. After Lauren fails to obtain money from of her boss, Byron Comstock, Steve reveals the secret to Lauren's husband, Tom, who promptly leaves Lauren. Lauren confesses her past to Comstock and offers her resignation, but her boss gives her a fatherly hug and refuses to accept her resignation. Cassie Ray, a young unwed mother, prepares to give her baby up for adoption to Larry McLain and his wife Gail. When faced with signing the adoption papers, however, Cassie has a hard time following through. Mark, who has befriended Cassie, tracks down the baby's father, Eugene, a merchant seaman who is unaware of Cassie's pregnancy. After an emotional reunion, the young couple visits the McLains and convinces them to give back the baby.
Superstar Katherine Cole comes to town for a stage play, accompanied by her devoted manager Anthony. Katherine and Anthony's stormy love-hate relationship stretches back twenty years, and a misunderstanding at one of the rehearsals leads Katherine to fire Anthony. However, Katherine is too nervous to do the play without Anthony, and she frantically searches for him. After she finds him, he helps her face her fears and do the play. When Peter falls sick, the temporary secretary, Bobby, mothers him. While spoon-feeding chicken soup to Peter, Bobby suggests a blind date with her niece, Robin, who turns out to be the most gorgeous woman Peter has met in a long time. A hard-driving career woman, Pamela Harding, on a business trip away from her husband and young son, finds her long-missing ex-husband, Mike, among the hotel staff. Their reunion turns from acrimonious to passionate as they spend the night in Pamela's suite.
Paula Todd has a reunion with her long-lost sister, Stephanie, a workaholic antique dealer, and her husband, Preston Dwyer. Paula and Stephanie's meeting is emotional, but Stephanie keeps busy and leaves Paula and Preston together. After Preston reveals to Paula that Stephanie has become frigid, he makes a pass at Paula. Stephanie becomes furious, but Preston explains his predicament to his wife and declares his love for her. Stephanie decides to seek help, and the Dwyers embark on a second honeymoon. The hotel staff is excited that Mrs. Cabot will be interviewed by Alexander Heath for a magazine cover story. After various blunders by the well-meaning staff, Heath forsakes the "quiet elegance" theme of his article and praises the staff's unpretentious human qualities instead.
Peter enjoys a reunion with old friends, Kurt and Judy Milford. Peter, who used to date Judy, invites the couple to dinner, but Kurt bows out. When Judy returns from the dinner, Kurt drunkenly accuses her of cheating and beats her. The next morning, Kurt apologizes to Judy; however, he mercilessly rapes her that night. Judy shops for a gun, while Kurt tells Peter that his wife has a drinking problem. In their suite, Judy waits for her husband, pistol in hand. Peter sees her with the gun and tries to reason with her. When Kurt enters and lunges at Judy, she shoots Kurt in the shoulder. Receptionist Megan and bellman Dave are having troubles, too. Their jobs, plus Dave's law studies, keep the couple apart. Billy suggests that Dave pay more attention to anatomy than law. Dave corners Megan in a hotel broom closet and makes his interests clear. Robbie Joe Carson, a country boy with an oil fortune, showers Christine, his former girlfriend, with expensive gifts.
Television sportscaster, Larry Dawson, and his director, Biff Henry, are in San Francisco to telecast a '49ers' football game. When Larry's wife Maggie arrives unexpectedly, she finds her husband and Biff in a flagrant situation, and she's stunned when her husband admits he's bisexual. In spite of their dilemma, Larry and Maggie share a reunion with their son Kevin in town from school. Wealthy cement contractor Leo McGurty checks in with his voluptuous secretary, Ruby Turner, and enlists Mark's aid in refining the socially inept secretary. Mark tutors Ruby on art and culture, finding her to be a delightful diamond in the rough. Ruby is charmed, having never been lavished with so much attention. Leo puts a stop to the developing romance, but Mark warns him not to take Ruby for granted. In front of all the guests at an important social event, Leo proposes to Ruby, and she accepts.
A booksellers' convention lures Agatha Deming, author of a lurid best-selling novel, Wilma Klein, a highly regarded editor, and Nick Braithwaite, a harsh book critic. Agatha and Nick meet by accident, hiding their true identities from each other. Later, Nick and Agatha get drunk and spend the night together. When they discover each other's identities, Nick calls her book trash, and Agatha storms out. They appear on the Dick Cavett show that evening, and Dick Cavett observes as love wins out, despite Nick and Agatha's difference of opinion. Frances and Carl Bernard reunite with their daughter, Jenny. The Bernards' old friend Peter is Jenny's godfather. Jenny secretly resents her domineering mother's control of her life and wants to be an artist, but her mother has decided that Jenny will go to Oxford to study chemistry. When Jenny fails to get into Oxford and finds her boyfriend Dan with another girl, she attempts suicide.
Peter hosts a reunion with college classmates Hal Dryer (GEOFFREY SCOTT) and Lester Hooten (CLIFF POTTS), who has become a rich cattle rancher and has married his college sweetheart, Tracy (DEBORAH MAY). The reunion turns sour when Hal flirts with Christine, and Lester becomes jealous of the warm rapport that develops between Peter and Tracy. Lester realizes, however, that his problems with Tracy stem from his long hours of work that leave her alone at the ranch. Mrs. Cabot decides she's lost touch with the workers and is determined to join them in their duties, a move which leads to nothing but aggravation for the staff as Mrs. Cabot fouls up their work. Playboy Ashley Bennett's (JOHN DAVIDSON) mother (BARBARA BAXLEY) has trapped him into a blind date with archeologist Dorothy Mintzer (SHELLEY SMITH), whereas Ashley has a date with a gorgeous model. Mistaking a spinsterish woman for Dorothy, Ashley trades places with a hotel bellman, Jon Kolzak (JAMES HOUGHTON).
Sarah, the eight-year-old daughter of hotel tenants Jean and Phil Lawrence, is suffering from headaches resulting from a recent fall. After a sudden turn in the child's illness, Christine calls Dr. Kellin, who suspects a blood clot in the brain and prescribes immediate tests and possible emergency surgery. When Sarah's parents return, Phil forbids Sarah's hospitalization because medical care is against the family's religious beliefs. Christine sets off on a personal crusade to get medical attention for Sarah. Mark proposes marriage to advertising executive Catherine Stevens, who is very much his senior, and whose 18-year-old son Jeff very much disapproves of the relationship. Mrs. Cabot works with art dealer Adam Partridge on a private showing of works by contemporary California artists. Secretly, Mrs. Cabot would love to exhibit her tulip garden painting, but neither Partridge nor socialite and art patron Georgia Potter will allow it.
Billy is distraught when his father William Sr. suddenly appears at the hotel. It is revealed that William Sr. disappeared after he and Billy's mother divorced; Billy hasn't heard from William Sr. in eight years. Billy resents his father's long absence and is unable forgive him. Two young attorneys, Gary Hanzlik and Joyce Emerson, are about to be married, but Joyce, a domineering woman, is obviously running the show. The reluctant bridegroom's friend is hosting a bachelor party for Gary that features a pornographic movie and a bikini-clad beauty who is to be his final fling before matrimony. The girl is Elayne Grayson, who substitutes for a friend because she needs the $300. Elayne successfully avoids sleeping with Gary, but they soon develop a rapport anyway. Realizing Gary has been trapped into marriage, Elayne gives Gary a taste of what love can be like, and Joyce catches them. Meanwhile, Christine volunteers to shepherd 16-year-old Kevin Walker.
At the St. Gregory Hotel to set up a sales conference, Martin Brennen immediately takes a liking to Mrs. Cabot's charity fund-raising supervisor, Grace. Grace likes Martin because he reminds her of a high school sweetheart who died 20 years before. Now using an alias, Martin actually was Grace's high school sweetheart. Grace's family told her that he died because they disapproved of him. Famous attorney Jay Falconer checks in to prepare a defense for a cosmopolitan client accused of a hit-and-run accident that claimed three lives. Bellman Dave, studying to be a lawyer, is in awe of Falconer, who hires Dave to be his aide in his off-hours. Megan disapproves, arguing that Falconer is an unscrupulous defender of sleazy "fat cats." When Falconer smears the reputation of the prosecution's key witness, Dave is disillusioned with the lawyer's dirty tactics and quits.
Lynn Valli, a former hotel masseuse, and her Italian husband Eduardo celebrate their honeymoon. However, they aren't in love. Eduardo's lover, Monica Shawlcross, who is married, has paid Lynn to pose as Eduardo's wife to get him into the country. When Lynn and Eduardo fall in love, Eduardo must decide between the two women. Christine is excited when her godfather, Matt Carmichael, checks in; she hasn't seen him in ten years. After Matt charms Mrs. Cabot, they begin a romantic affair. Although Christine is pleased to see the two together, Christine discovers through irregularities in Matt's hotel bill payments that her godfather has been leeching money from wealthy widows. Peter has reluctantly agreed to allow Nick Desmond, an actor friend of bellman Dave, to follow him around and prepare for his stage performance as a hotel manager. Nick annoys Peter as the hammy actor imitates Peter and even makes decisions in his absence.
Ellen Lindstrom winds up in the room of a British diplomat, Anthony Mortlake, who introduces Ellen to heroin. Later that night, he finds Ellen in the bathroom, dead. When police inspector Alvarez suggests a search for a syringe, Mortlake refuses to open his dispatch case on the basis of diplomatic immunity. Joe Lindstrom, father of the dead girl, arrives at the hotel and hides in Mortlake's suite, watching him set up for an injection. Lindstrom holds Mortlake at bay with a pistol and calls for police. Lisa Herrick waits at the hotel for her boyfriend, who has been delayed. Disappointed, Lisa wins the sympathy of Zack Shepherd, an old friend of Mrs. Cabot. Actually, Lisa is there to meet with attorney Sylvester Sullivan regarding the inheritance she is receiving from a mysterious guardian who has looked after her needs since she was an orphaned baby. Julie is juggling romances with two delegates of a computer convention, Errol and Kaz.
Gayla and Steve Erickson are in San Francisco to confer with a specialist about their ten-year-old son, Josh, who is dying from a rare blood disease. In preparing for a bone marrow transplant, the doctor's tests reveal that Steve is not Josh's biological father. Alice and Bill Korman arrange a blind date for their unmarried, plain friend, Millie Broome, who is in town for a teachers' conference. When the date has to cancel, Alice hires a professional escort, Charles Vandoor, who spends the night with Millie and finds himself infatuated. While Charles waits for the right moment to reveal his line of work, Millie accidentally finds out from Charles's enthusiastic former client. Receiving most of the attention at the St. Gregory Hotel, however, is the celebrated clairvoyant Constantin Markos, who is in town to perform his unique skills. Markos, an old acquaintance of Mrs. Cabot's, impresses Peter when he predicts that a redhead will soon enter his life.
The staff prepares for the engagement party of Kelly Howland and Brad Dodge. Kelly's father Ned has urged the marriage for financial reasons: his company needs a merger with Victor Dodge's firm to survive. Ned's wife Margot assures her daughter that love can come later. However, Kelly is in love with a young mathematics teacher, David Newman; in fact, she is carrying his child. Adding more complication, Jonathan Talbot, who is an alcoholic, introduces himself to Kelly as her long-lost Uncle Jonathan. Actually, he is Margot's former lover and Kelly's true father. Due to Ned Howland's actions, Jonathan saw his business crumble and then he sought solace in the bottle. Meanwhile, Christine has learned that a lump in her breast may be malignant. Because the same problem claimed her mother's life, Christine is terrified and turns to Peter for comfort. Peter and Christine drink too much wine, and spend the night together, but they're too inebriated to share anything but sleep and a hangover.
The Korsak family gathers for the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Adam and Nell. Adam's accountant and Nell use the opportunity for a romantic interlude in their secret love affair. Nell later asks Adam for a divorce. Their son Michael, separated from his wife, is there with his ten-year-old daughter Jessie, who is caught shoplifting from the gift shop. Michael's wife demands more money in the divorce settlement if Michael wants to keep Jessie. Adam is furious with his daughter Joanna for getting an abortion after having an affair with a married man. Joanna informs her father that his brother, Uncle Ray, had raped her when she was a child. Consequently, Adam finds Ray and beats him mercilessly. Adam and Nell reconcile and the whole family gathers for a happy conclusion to the Korsaks' 35th Anniversary.
Barbara and Dennis Medford are in town for Barbara to accept her award as Today's Woman Magazine's contest for new dress designers. As usual, Dennis is distracted by other women. When the magazine's marketing director, Warren Nicholson, showers Barbara with attention and the two end up in bed together, Dennis admits for the first time that he has treated her poorly. Adrian Fitzpatrick, Peter's former romantic interest, seeks refuge from her unfaithful husband. After many drinks, Adrian invites Peter into her room. When Peter turns her down, she rakes her fingernails across his face. Later, after her husband Jack demands a divorce, Adrian takes a stranger back to her room; after the stranger rapes her, Adrian names Peter as the rapist. When she fails to win her husband back with sympathy, Adrian admits to the lie.
Christine's old friends, Sarah Oliver (MORGAN BRITTANY) and Patty Maloney (DIDI CONN), join their mutual friend, Mandy Vining (MELODY THOMAS), in celebrating her wedding to Roger, a man whom all four women have known before. Tom Sherman (JOHN BECK), who is a bonded courier and Billy's friend, meets his new love, Anne Cowley (MARKIE POST), host of a television cooking series, and her son Bobby Cowley (CHAD ALLEN) after they arrive at the St. Gregory Hotel on a visit from their home in New York. Anne and Tom enjoy a candlelit dinner, until she tells him that her late husband was murdered. Later, after making love in Anne's room, Tom recognizes Anne's husband from a picture: it is the man he accidentally killed when he was an FBI agent. Meanwhile, Peter faces an IRS audit with April Bradshaw (SUSAN WALDEN) without the assistance of his accountant who was rushed to the hospital with a kidney stone.
Gerald Phelps, a shy advertising artist, nervously prepares to meet his pen pal of several years, Mary Ellen Carson. Mary Ellen is gorgeous, but Gerald, due to his own insecurity, had sent a handsome photo of Peter after Mary Ellen requested a picture. When Mary Ellen arrives, Christine plays along by introducing Peter as Gerald and vice versa. Ted Travers discovers that Sandy Leonard, a girl he had romanced two years ago, is now engaged to Ted's father, Randall Travers. Now Randall would like Ted to join his firm, an offer his son rejects. Fred Hampton, a former professional football star forced to retire because of a knee injury, now works at the St. Gregory Hotel as a bellman. Fred tries to avoid contact with ex-professional player Perry Walker (LYNN SWAN), who is hosting a reunion of his old teammates.
World-renowned pianist Diana Renard has a reunion with old Julliard classmates, Russ and Stephanie McMullen. Diana blames Stephanie for holding Russ back as a musician. When Stephanie confesses that she had lied about being pregnant to keep Russ away from Diana 15 years earlier, Russ and Diana spend the night together. Frank Prescott checks in with his 12-year-old son Anthony, a computer whiz. Frank is too busy with work to do any of the things he and Anthony had planned, so Anthony turns to hacking the hotel's computer system. Soon after Mark catches a purse-snatcher and becomes a local hero and his girlfriend Jill asks him to live with her, a newspaper reporter asks to write a story about his heroics. As Peter and Christine prepare to take Mark and Jill out, a police inspector arrests Mark for assault of an old girlfriend, a charge that Mark denies. Jill begins to doubt Mark's innocence, and the reporter writes a sensationalized story of a tarnished hero.
Cathy Connelly is a disturbed young lady hiding a big secret. After testifying in a mob trial, she has been given a completely new identity by the FBI. Now, however, her former husband, a hoodlum named Frank Brenner, has tracked her down and wants her back. Cathy realizes that the gangsters will trace her through Frank. Because Frank threatens revenge against her boyfriend Sam Parrish, Cathy cannot accept Sam's marriage proposal. Mrs. Cabot turns matchmaker, reuniting recently-widowed Elizabeth Hastings with her boyfriend of many years past, Daniel Gerard. Elizabeth looks beautiful and seems to be emerging from the depression brought on by her husband's death. However, a mother-and-daughter controversy develops after Elizabeth's daughter Brook spurns an obvious pass by a young man, playboy Cliff Walton, and learns later that her mom shared her bed with him.
While preparing for the annual St. Gregory/Mark Hopkins Charity Softball Game, the Mark Hopkins Hotel's assistant manager, Brian Fox, falls for Christine and makes no effort to hide it. Christine likes Brian, but thinks that he comes on too strongly. At Christine's suggestion, Brian takes a more gentlemanly approach, and Christine ends up in his arms. When Brian lands the job of general manager at a luxury hotel in Boston, he asks Christine to join him, but Christine can't bring herself to desert Peter. Having promised Mary Tyson to look after her 15-year-old grandson Randy while she's out of town, Peter has checked the boy into a room at the hotel. A bit mixed-up, Randy secretly seeks escape in alcohol. When Peter catches Randy drinking with some other teens, Randy berates Peter and stumbles, striking his head. Later, Peter introduces Randy to a recovering alcoholic teen-ager who convinces Randy to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to deal with his problem.
J. Scott "Scotty" Foreman, a wartime Air Force hero, record-breaking jet pilot, financial wizard, author and philanthropist, is in town for a banquet honoring him as Man of the Year. With him are his socially prominent wife, Jessica, and his aide, Russ Turnbull. Trailing after him are reporters Ray Stern and Natasha Cellini, who is assigned to do an in-depth feature on Foreman. Scotty disapproves of the relationship between his daughter, Melinda, and struggling actor Brian MacArthur, even though Scotty himself has a mistress staying at the hotel. Peter and Natasha, former lovers, revive their former affair in Natasha's room. Natasha knows of Scotty's troubled family life, including his estrangement from one son and the suicide of another, but decides not to reveal this in her story. Instead, she intends to concentrate on the strength of his wife, Jessica.
Eli Gilmour, a divorced father, reunites with his two children, Quinn, 13, and Josh, 11, after a six month absence. Although Eli has worried that they wouldn't accept his live-in girlfriend, Maxine, his children are more troubled by Eli's efforts to compensate for his feelings of failure. Though their reunion and Eli's behavior are unsteady, when the mother is suddenly hospitalized in critical condition, Eli comes through for Quinn and Josh. A divorced song-writing team, Fran Clark and Larry Matthews, is forced to collaborate on modernizing their 25-year-old hit musical for a revival production. By the time the producer enthusiastically approves the rewrite, Fran and Larry are headed for the altar one more time. After suffering a back injury in an accident, Mrs. Cabot misinterprets a prescription and becomes addicted to pain pills. Peter and Christine are alarmed by Mrs. Cabot's dramatic mood swings; when Peter offers Mrs. Cabot some helpful advice, she fires him for insubordination.
Two wine-making brothers, Vincent and Anthony Palandrini continue their long-standing feud at a wine conference. When Vincent's assistant, Link, asks Anthony for his blessings to marry his daughter, Camila, Anthony says he doesn't have a daughter. When Mrs. Cabot brings father and daughter together, it is revealed that Anthony believes Vincent slept with his wife and that Camila is actually his brother's daughter. However, Vincent swears that they never consummated their love. While Vincent's wine is being awarded a top prize at the conference, Vincent and Anthony are working out their differences in the hotel wine cellar. When the brothers return to the awards ceremony, Anthony signals their reconciliation with a glowing tribute to his brother. Billy is reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Michelle, the discontented wife of politician Lucas Todd.
The hotel is the setting for the fictitious wedding of popular soap opera stars Cliff Palmer and his leading lady, Stacy. When Cliff grants an interview to the charming young fan club president, Robin, she seduces Cliff over dinner, and they end up spending the night together. Cliff seems not to notice Robin's difficulty separating fiction and reality, laughing it off as a joke when she asks him not to go through with the on-camera wedding. It becomes clear that Robin is disturbed, however, when she puts on Stacy's wedding gown and attacks Cliff with a knife. A resourceful young shoe shiner, Hank, is determined to establish his own business in the hotel corridors, eluding Peter and charming the hotel staff. Eventually, Peter rewards Hank with his own approved shine stand. Meanwhile, the hotel is also hosting a sequestered jury. Feisty Estelle urges her roommate, Alison, to encourage an obvious pass by another juror, Joe.
The St. Gregory Hotel is the setting for a grim custody battle over a nine-year-old girl, Lindsay, when it is revealed that she is the missing child of Tom and Sally Banks. Lindsay is now in the custody of policeman Will Pomeroy and his wife, Cheryl. Will did not learn of the Banks' search until years after bringing the girl into the family. Though the Banks have a legal claim to Lindsay, the girl objects to the idea of leaving the Pomeroys for a pair of strangers. Lindsay points out that she has two mothers now and wishes to visit the Banks. Dave and Megan have their first serious quarrel when he brings in a con artist, Wade Stafford, who persuades Dave to give up law for a get-rich-quick scheme in real estate. Megan leaves to stay with Julie, then returns to their apartment to find that Wade has brought home a couple of girls to lift Dave's spirits. After losing a game of basketball, Peter realizes that he's no longer as young as he would like to believe.
While preparing for the annual St. Gregory/Mark Hopkins Charity Softball Game, the Mark Hopkins Hotel's assistant manager, Brian Fox, falls for Christine and makes no effort to hide it. Christine likes Brian, but thinks that he comes on too strongly. At Christine's suggestion, Brian takes a more gentlemanly approach, and Christine ends up in his arms. When Brian lands the job of general manager at a luxury hotel in Boston, he asks Christine to join him, but Christine can't bring herself to desert Peter. Having promised Mary Tyson to look after her 15-year-old grandson Randy while she's out of town, Peter has checked the boy into a room at the hotel. A bit mixed-up, Randy secretly seeks escape in alcohol. When Peter catches Randy drinking with some other teens, Randy berates Peter and stumbles, striking his head. Later, Peter introduces Randy to a recovering alcoholic teen-ager who convinces Randy to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to deal with his problem.
Nicholas and Olga Petrovsky are a middle-aged couple who have decided to return to Russia with their 16-year-old American-born son Alex. After a scholarship offer from Stanford tennis coach Ken Daily, Alex has an emotional argument with his father that ends with Nicholas striking his son. Olga finally tells Alex the truth: Nicholas is suffering from an incurable disease and wants to return to his homeland to die. Alex understands and decides to accompany his family to Russia. At the last minute, however, Nicholas tells Alex to stay in the U.S. and live with his coach. Julie hits it off with Matthew Bowers, a charming jazz pianist, then impresses everyone as she sings along with Matthew's trio. Matthew's former lover, singing star Debra Andrews, is also booked at the hotel. While Matthew has bitter feelings of having been left behind by Debra, the real object of Matthew's anger is Debra's new manager, Lou Valentine.
Film star Jessica Daniels (JEAN SIMMONS) and her secretary and companion Fran Willis (GAIL FISHER) arrive at the hotel to be honored at a retrospective of her screen career. Her friendly ex-husband, Sal Pinelli (STUART WHITMAN), greets her, and the two still appear to be devoted to each other. Because Jessica has Alzheimer's Disease, Fran rehearses with Jessica for her appearance. When Jessica becomes incoherent, Sal escorts her from the rostrum and tells Jessica he wants to re-marry her and take care of her. Howard Terrell (DAVID GROH) has ensconced his mistress, Arlene Greenspan (JULIA DUFFY), in his company's corporate suite, but now, because Terrell won't divorce his wife, Arlene refuses to vacate. Steven Parker (BOYD GAINES), a resourceful employee, has the assignment to complete her eviction. Instead, Arlene and Steve fall in love. Englishman Edmund Bradshaw (PATRICK MacNEE), one of London's finest innkeepers, arrives to visit Mrs. Cabot.
Christine is enjoying a budding romance with Richard Martin. Unknown to Christine, Richard suffers from multiple personality disorder. One of his personalities, "Rick," is a misogynist who abuses his girlfriend Amy. Amy follows Richard to a rendezvous with Christine and confronts him, but Richard claims he's never seen her before. Later, Amy is found stabbed to death. Having researched Richard's background, Billy and Peter save Christine from Richard, who wields a knife. Veteran bellman Frasier Pratt begins to show signs of incompetence. When Dr. Ellen Graham checks in to deliver a medical convention lecture, Frasier shows her to the wrong room, where architect Malcolm Taylor, clad only in a towel, berates her. Later, a friendship develops between Malcolm and Ellen. Mrs. Cabot solves Frasier's performance problem with a simple hearing aid. Bothered by her infatuation with Malcolm, Ellen calls her husband, Leonard, but fails to tell him about it.
Dr. Michael Vaughn is involved in a custody battle for Jodi Abbott, an 11-year-old whose late mother willed her custody to Dr. Vaughn and his companion, Alex Halpern. However, the child's aunt and uncle, Nora and Cameron Wheeler, have sued for custody because they don't want Jodi raised by homosexuals. The judge awards custody to the Wheelers, but Jodi, angry and miserable, runs away, returning to Michael and Alex. Mrs. Cabot hosts a meeting to return Jodi to the Wheelers, but Nora convinces Cameron to allow Jodi to live with Alex and Michael. Peter recruits Christine to be his navigator for a road rally. Inexperienced in races, Christine directs them onto the wrong road, where a truck forces Peter and Christine into an accident. Peter suffers a serious head injury, and they spend the night in the wilderness. Later, Dr. Kulwin informs Christine that Peter has a blood clot that must be removed. As they prepare for surgery, Peter slips into a coma.
A young retarded couple, Robert Bianca and Annie Goldman, are determined to elope. Robert's older brother Vincent is proud of his brother's determination to live his own life, but Annie's mother, Edith Goldman, strives to halt the wedding. Edith eventually gives in, and Robert proves his ability by making all the arrangements for a small wedding ceremony. Peter is disturbed by the presence of Callie Harlan and her 11-year-old daughter, Trisha; years ago, Peter had an affair with Callie. They were discovered by her husband, who forced Peter to transfer his hotel career to Europe. Callie's husband recently died, leaving his fortune to Trisha. Now, Trisha's grandmother Grace Harlan is using her influence to control her late son's estate and win custody of Trisha. Callie has kidnapped her own daughter, and there is a warrant for her arrest. Jack Bond, a Harlan family employee, tracks down Callie and her daughter, and Grace flies in from New Orleans. Trisha disappears from the hotel.
Banker James Chelton is distraught because his recently widowed sister-in-law, Amelia, lives a life of extravagance. MacDonald "Mack" Erickson and his pal Tommy work as trash collectors. When Amelia carelessly runs down Erickson, the slightly injured man is carried to her suite and treated by the hotel physician. After Mack charms Amelia, she extends his stay. James researches Mack's background and discovers that he has a criminal record for theft. When a piece of Amelia's jewelry ends up missing, James accuses Mack, who leaves. Visiting Amelia, Mack's pal Tommy tells her how Mack's life was ruined years ago after being wrongfully jailed for a theft. Amelia finds Mack, and the two are reunited. Megan is jealous because Dave spends all his time studying for a law degree. As Dave spends his third straight evening at the library, Megan returns alone to their apartment to face a rapist, who assaults her.
Released from prison after eleven years for a crime he vows he did not commit, Phil Tanner has written a best-selling book during his imprisonment. Calvin Polk, a Hollywood screenwriter, is helping Phil raise funds for a prison reform campaign. Polk's young, star-worshipping girlfriend, Kathy Avery, throws herself at Tanner. When Kathy's dead body is found, Tanner, knowing he will be charged with murder, takes Christine hostage, demanding she corroborate his story that Kathy's death was an accident. Christine calms Tanner down, reassuring him that the truth will prevail. Meanwhile, Mrs. Kupchak, grandmother of flower shop employee Sandy Hoyle, has been ailing and is determined to see Sandy married. In order to appease her grandmother, Sandy lies, saying she's engaged to the bell captain, Dave. Elated, Mrs. Kupchak demands to meet him, and Sandy confesses her ruse to Dave and Megan, who reluctantly agree to cooperate.
Jeremy Hale, a former ballet dancer paralyzed by a hit-and-run accident, finds it difficult to adjust to his new career as a choreographer, despite the help of his former dance partner, Natalie Rogers. Natalie's mother Madelyntells her that Jeremy doesn't want Natalie's pity and she should move on with her life, but Natalie loves him deeply and feels compelled to stay. When Jeremy tells Natalie to leave him and Natalie confesses that she was responsible for his injury, Jeremy explodes in anger. Peter keeps Natalie from leaving, then talks to Jeremy, and through his intervention Peter brings the couple to reconcile. Elizabeth Evans, assistant to Mark the guest relations director, tries to conceal her poverty-stricken background while resisting marriage proposals from wealthy young socialite Duncan Wingfield. Elizabeth is embarrassed by the arrival of her father, Tyler Evans, a weathered, former coal miner from West Virginia.
Laura Temple has eloped with businessman Michael Devlin (STUART DAMON). However, Laura is pregnant by another man, Chad Wheeler, a sculptor whom Laura jilted to be with Michael. When Chad proposes marriage to Laura, she knows that Michael is her true love, even though their relationship is now tottering. Laura and Michael's argument over the baby continues as Michael packs to leave. After Christine lectures him on his priorities, he leaves. Halfway to the airport, Michael turns around, and he and Laura reconcile. Jason Fielding claims to be the illegitimate son of Mrs. Cabot's late husband. Mrs. Cabot is moved by Jason's story, but Peter is suspicious and has Billy check Jason's background. On an outing to the marina with Mrs. Cabot, Jason points out the schooner with which he would start his own boat chartering company if only he had $50,000. Mrs. Cabot offers to help, but Peter thinks she's being fleeced, since there is no evident link between Jason and Stephen Cabot.
Jake Cabot, whose daughter-in-law, Victoria Cabot, now supervises the St. Gregory Hotel that Jake and his late son once operated, still resents that his family forced him into what he felt was a premature retirement. Jake takes Victoria's advice to get back into the hotel business and decides to run a country inn in Vermont. Aerobics instructor Angie Archer hopes to snare a rich husband from the celebrities checking in for the hotel's 75th anniversary gala. Angie mistakes Mike Passmore, head of a computer company, for a deliveryman, and instead pursues an older financier, Garrett Hardy. Despite her strategy, a romance blooms between Angie and Mike, and Angie chooses the "deliveryman" over the financier, only to discover Mike's true identity later. Christine discovers that one of the domestics, 19-year-old Tereza Cruz, who is pregnant, is an illegal alien. Because Tereza wants her child to gain citizenship by being born in the U.S., she is hiding from immigration officials.
Two precocious youngsters, Sara, 12, and Ben, 11, check in with their industrious father and their governess, Miss Oliver. Ben and Sara play a prank on Billy by faking an intruder attack. After Ben and Sara overhear an argument punctuated by a pistol shot, they see someone in a Burberry coat sprinting away. They find a dead woman's body in the front seat of a car, but when they take their father to the scene, the body is gone. When they inform Billy, he walks away. Christine's aunt Addie, a wealthy widow, is in town for a reunion with her lover Luke. After Peter exposes Luke as a hustler, Christine informs Addie about Luke's questionable character. Already aware of Luke's hustling, Addie chastises her niece for meddling. Ben sees Miss Oliver in a Burberry coat and is convinced that she is the murderer. Ben and Sara uncover evidence that she has killed the real Miss Oliver and has assumed her identity. As the impostor attempts to kidnap Sara at gunpoint, the police and Billy arrest her.
Former college friends Bob, Tom and Susan meet for a weekend reunion, all three having recently ended long relationships. When Bob and Susan sleep together, Tom's anger betrays his longtime love for Susan, and the reunion begins to disintegrate. Although Bob and Tom get into a fight, the three friends eventually reconcile. Meanwhile, Peter is jealous of Christine's affair with Adam Kirkwood, a wealthy, young, international businessman. Returning after a long mourning period for his late wife, the hotel's venerable chief of security, Art Patterson, believes that his assistant, Billy, is after his job. Patterson plants a bomb in the hotel basement. When George Sandler, a rich man with political aspirations, hosts a fund-raiser, Adam invites Christine and Peter. Trailing them is Mr. Rider, an FBI agent interested in Adam's illegal weapons shipments.
Learning that Christine's boyfriend, Adam Kirkwood, is the FBI's prime suspect in an arms smuggling operation, Peter takes Christine to Agent Rider, who informs her that George Sandler, a powerful politician, and Adam are plotting to sell arms to guerrilla forces in the Third World. After planting a bomb in the hotel basement, security chief Art Patterson anonymously tips off the hotel and personally disarms the bomb in order to make himself a hero. When Billy finds evidence pointing to Patterson, Patterson asks for Billy's resignation. Over Peter's objections, Christine agrees to plant an FBI listening device in Adam's bedroom. When Adam catches Christine, Sandler insists on killing her, but Adam arranges for Peter to take Christine to safety. At the hotel, Billy agrees to resign, but Patterson eventually confesses to Billy and leaves the hotel security in Billy's hands.
The marriage of Gerald and Ivy Milburn is threatened by jealousy as Gerald questions his wife's attentions toward Peter, and Ivy watches her husband befriend a sexy, but obviously broke woman, Tracy Benedict. Gerald offers Tracy money and a room at the hotel if she'll distract Peter from Ivy. Meanwhile, Ivy asks Peter to befriend Tracy and find out about her affair with Gerald. Complicating matters, Tracy's jilted fiancé arrives, determined to win her back. Determined to correct the Milburns' paranoia, Peter sends Tracy and Nick on their way as lovers. Bartender Frank Jessup trades jibes with waiter Joel Shubert, a homosexual tired of Frank's prejudice. Ironically, Frank soon learns that he has AIDS. Frank believes Joel to be the cause, but Joel has twice tested negative. Frank's ex-wife, Sheila , berates Frank as a closet homosexual, and his son, Elliot, thinks he's a junkie. Frank apologizes to Joel then reveals his problem to Christine, who tells him that his job is secure.
A convention of police chiefs includes Mrs. Cabot's old friend, the recently widowed Brian O'Connell from Atlantic City. Their friendship blossoms into romance, and Mrs. Cabot spends the night with Brian. Both are beginning to think about marriage. However, realizing she could never leave the hotel to be a police chief's wife, they decide on something less matrimonial, a couple weeks of fishing in Canada. Pretending to cram for an exam, Nick Miller, a college junior, has a rendezvous at the hotel with 38-year-old Kay Radcliff, who happens to be the mother of his college roommate, Todd Radcliff. Todd and his girlfriend, Denise, pay Nick a surprise visit and find Todd's mother sharing the hotel room. Todd is inconsolable, and Denise fails to convince him that his mother has the right to choose her own love life. Finally Kay explodes, telling Todd to grow up and face it like a man.
Peter refers a 16-year-old runaway, Michael, to a shelter run by Marilyn Jeffries and promises Michael a job interview at the hotel. Michael is lured, however, by a 17-year-old girl, Angela, to a pornographic screen test with Cheryl and Dennis Preston. Afterwards, Peter shows Michael a pornographic video featuring Marilyn, who warns Michael of the dangers ahead. Michael phones his father and goes home. Irene and Paul Fitzgerald are poised to embark on a world cruise after a brief reunion with their son, Jack, and his workaholic wife, Deborah. When Irene reveals that she's pregnant, Paul becomes distraught, believing they're too old for parenthood, and Deborah is convinced it's her mother-in-law's revenge against the younger woman's resistance to motherhood. Eventually, Deborah and Irene have a heart-to-heart talk, reconciling the family. When waitress Shawn Barrish takes a bellman position, veteran bell captain Walter Devlin insists to her that it's a man's job.
Christine sees a briefcase filled with money in a car driven by Scott Baker. Later, Christine sees the now empty briefcase in Peter's office as Peter introduces her to Vanessa Clark, an old girlfriend. Christine is suspicious of Vanessa, but Peter refuses to listen. In fact, Vanessa has talked Scott into embezzling $850,000 and has contacted a fence, Steiner, to launder the money. Scott is, however, unaware that Vanessa plans to run off to Hong Kong with the money. Dan and Lisa Mason welcome Kim Lan, a 12-year-old Vietnamese orphan, escorted by Sister Nuyen to a foster home in America. Dan, a lawyer and Vietnam veteran, relocates Vietnamese children. Lisa is proud of her husband's efforts, but is stunned when Kim turns out to be Dan's daughter. Lisa cannot accept Kim, and is torn between a mother's concern and a wife's anger. After Kim tries running away, Lisa reconciles with Kim, who eventually feels like she's found a new family.
Peter agrees to appear as a guest on a radio talk show hosted by his ex-girlfriend, psychologist Dr. Ann Vargo, who is broadcasting from the hotel's mezzanine. Christine helps Mrs. Cabot entertain boys and girls from the Children's Home, run by Betty Archer. Christine becomes enamored of an eight-year-old girl, Amanda. Later, Christine finds Amanda at her door and receives permission to keep the child overnight. Christine begins to feel that caring for Amanda is the most important thing in her life. During Peter's radio appearance, a caller vows revenge on Dr. Vargo for breaking up his marriage. After several threatening episodes, Peter has her moved into the hotel. Billy places a guard outside Ann's door after she and Peter barely escape a sniper's bullets. Hoping to lure the stalker, Ann goes to the deserted studio where Peter is hiding. The gunman turns out to be Glenn, a new bellman. Peter overpowers Glenn and turns him over to Billy.
A Benham Academy football coach, Jack Allen, celebrates Benham Senior Weekend with half a dozen students. Five are football players; the sixth is scholarly Martin, the butt of their jokes. When Allen's daughter Beth arrives, she's delighted to find her friend Martin, but Allen interferes with their friendship. The football players try to humiliate Martin, and Christine berates Coach Allen for encouraging them. When Martin confronts Allen, Allen surprisingly vows to change his ways. Peter's old buddy, Brad Carlton, a former Vietnam POW, recognizes a hotel waiter, Duong Thanh, as one of his prison camp tormentors. When Brad's wife Wendy finds her husband fashioning a bamboo whip, she asks for Peter's help. After talking to Mrs. Thanh, Wendy learns that Thanh's cruelty stemmed from his parents' death in a bombing raid. Thanh goes to Brad's room, removes his shirt and hands the whip to Brad. Brad's anger, however, turns to those who sent him to war.
Drew Hayward, Peter's college classmate, starts as the new director of hotel operations. Julie hopes to become Hayward's assistant manager, but Hayward makes the job offer contingent on sexual favors. Because Julie thinks Peter would back his college friend, she doesn't report Hayward's harassment. When Julie rejects Hayward's job offer, he grabs her and threatens to have her fired if she doesn't have sex with him. Julie breaks free and tells Peter about the incident. Hayward claims that Julie tried to seduce him to get the job, but Julie reveals that she secretly recorded their previous conversation; Peter gives Hayward ten minutes to collect his belongings and leave. Maggie Lewis, a flower vendor at the hotel, seeks Christine's help. Lisa, the child Maggie gave up for adoption, is marrying Roger Easton, the son of snobbish Ruth Easton, and Maggie needs Christine and Peter's help to put up a well-to-do front and save Lisa embarrassment.
Lauren Moffet arrives for an illicit rendezvous with her lover, Neil Benson, which disturbs Lauren's friend, Christine, because Neil, who is married, seems insincere. Discussing hotel reservations with Neil's secretary, Christine learns that Neil has no wife and informs Lauren. In turn, Lauren tricks Neil into catching her in bed with Mark, posing as her lover. Neil storms out of the room, perhaps for good. Later, Lauren tells Neil she had a talk with his wife, who wants a divorce. Neil plays along, and they reconcile. Janice Copeland is worried because her husband, Richard, is entering a yacht race right after heart surgery. Richard resents her coddling, especially since their sex life is suffering. Richard's old friend Peter is touring Richard's yacht when Beverly Wilder, who is on the race committee, sets her sights on Richard. Beverly and Richard have a wild encounter, but Peter eventually brings Richard and Lauren back together.
The TV show, Catch A Rising Star, uses the hotel ballroom for the finals of its talent contest, in which the top prize is a recording contract and $10,000 in cash. The hotel also welcomes top scientists in a NASA think tank, and FBI security is heavy. Julie unwittingly becomes a finalist in the talent contest because Dave and Megan submitted her tape. Although Julie would like the $10,000 to give to her grandfather's medical clinic in Africa, she's not interested in a singing career. Among the NASA scientists is Claire Talbot Ames, wife of Mike Ames, Peter's college roommate. When Claire finds evidence that Mike is a spy, she consults Peter. Peter and FBI agents catch Mike photographing a top-secret project, and Mike is gunned down. Hysterical, Claire rushes to the van where FBI agents have carried Mike's body. She finds him alive. It turns out that Mike was working with the Soviets, and his so-called shooting death was his way out.
Barbara Fremont, Christine's attorney friend, has decided to leave her career and move to South America. Her client and secret lover, John Dunson, has escaped from prison, and is posing as Barbara's brother Joe. Christine is not fooled, however, and Barbara admits that she and Dunson are leaving the country. Urged by Christine, Dunson decides to serve his sentence, and Barbara insists they'll see it through together. A 16-year-old faith healer, Rachel, accepts $50,000 to heal a wealthy crippled man, Garrison Snow, but nearly dies in the effort. Her brother Roy secretly sells her story to Stella Falco, a tabloid reporter. In order to send Rachel back to obscurity, Peter convinces Stella to brand Rachel as a fraud. Bellman Dave's friend, Tom, puts Dave's wife, Megan, in his film, which includes a steamy love scene.
Charles Canfield, owner of a prestigious English hotel, and his daughter Mary attempt to lure their friend Peter away to London to manage their hotel. Mary has a long-standing crush on Peter, and the attraction is mutual, which arouses Christina's jealousy. Mary's influence and the promise of part ownership in the hotel make the offer hard to refuse. Peter offers to take Christine with him, but she tells Peter that he has to choose between her and the job in London. When it becomes clear that the only thing keeping Charles's highly competent daughter from managing the hotel is his lack of confidence in her, Peter convinces Charles to entrust the job to Mary. Billy hires an attractive new assistant, Sheila, a former military policewoman. Billy begins to have doubts about Sheila, however, when she throws a shoplifter through a window. Billy checks with Sheila's former supervisor and learns that she and her boyfriend were suspected of operating a black market on the base.
Legendary movie star Barbara Farrell comes out of seclusion to confront her daughter Livy, whose publisher and lover Ted persuaded her to write a sensational book chronicling her mother's cruelties. Unknown to Barbara and Livy, Barbara's manager, Sidney, originally presented the book idea to Ted as a way of getting exposure for Barbara and bringing her out of retirement. Looking for a profitable publicity stunt, Ted and Sidney try to manipulate the two women into a public reconciliation. Only after breaking free from Ted and Sidney's parasitic grip are Livy and Barbara able to come to an understanding. Christine hesitates in making her relationship physical with Dr. Evans, who is perfect in every way but one: he's not Peter. When Dr. Evans makes a surprise visit at the hotel, Christine becomes frustrated with Peter's perfectly cordial handling of the situation. She wants some sign from Peter that he cares for her. When Dr. Evans unexpectedly proposes to Christine, she declines.
After a twenty-year absence, Peter's brother Owen shows up as bodyguard for Francesca Delgado, president of a South American country. When Owen, formerly a mercenary, almost kills a reporter, Peter reprimands his brother and learns that Owen was responsible for their father's death. Peter throws Owen against the wall and storms off. Later, Francesca explains to Peter that despite Owen's feeling of intense guilt, he was not responsible for their father's death. Before Owen leaves, he and Peter embrace, and Owen promises to return some day. Albert, the hotel's doorman of thirty years, is forced to switch to cloakroom duty. The transition is difficult, partly because Albert will miss the brocaded uniform his grandchildren love so much. With Peter's approval, Dave, Julie and Megan present Albert with a vintage doorman's jacket and dub him the St. Gregory Doorman Emeritus. Unaware of Peter's brother's reappearance, Christine demands that Peter come to a decision about their relationship.
When Christine announces her resignation, the entire staff is saddened. Christine leaves a note for Mrs. Cabot explaining her frustration with Peter, who uses their professional relationship to avoid showing Christine his feelings. Both Julie and Megan become upset when Peter promotes Julie to Christine's vacated position. Christine is distraught because Peter didn't consult with her in finding a replacement, while Megan is jealous and doesn't understand why she was overlooked. After making an emotional speech at Christine's going away party, Peter is overcome by his feelings and heads for the hotel bar to drown his sorrow. Billy tells Peter to admit his love to Christine. Peter goes to her apartment, but he still can't express himself, and Christine gets into her cab to go to the airport. Peter blocks the cab with his car and finally pronounces his love for Christine. They fall into each other's arms.
Just as Christine and Peter celebrate their now open romance, they soon face a takeover attempt on the hotel by the Cabot family's ruthless financier, Charles Cabot. As the battle over the hotel intensifies, Christine and Peter depend on each other for love and support. Charles digs up whatever dirt he can find on Peter and teams up with Jessica Cabot to put a legal hold on Mrs. Cabot's will, depriving Peter of a job and home. A successful young architect, Alan, despondent after a bitter divorce, falls in love with a beautiful, high-priced call girl, Michelle. Michelle discourages Alan's feelings for her, but he persists and follows her back to her apartment, where he discovers that she has a child. Alan leaves, and Michelle, emotionally worn, moves out immediately to start anew in another city. Finding her gone, Alan sets out to find the woman he loves.
Continuing his efforts to take over the hotel, Charles Cabot evicts Peter from the hotel penthouse and searches the accounting records for evidence of wasteful spending. Charles's sister Jessica and family patriarch Uncle Jake align with Peter, forcing Charles to back down temporarily. With Peter sharing Christine's office and making managerial decisions that she should be making, Christine is forced to assert herself. Realizing that Peter will never give up his old office, Christine has a storeroom converted into her office. Rena Payne plots to have her young lover, Ray, murder her wealthy husband, Everett. Rena arranges to have Ray shoot Everett in her hotel room and to make it look like a robbery. Noticing that Billy carries a pistol, Rena sends Billy to her hotel room in the hope of eliminating both her husband and her lover. When Ray fails to go through with the plan, Rena is arrested.
Agoraphobia, or the fear of open spaces, has kept Laura Shafer confined to the hotel for three months. Laura's father, Al, who is a used-auto dealer, her jilted fiancé Kevin and Peter all try to help her, but to no avail. When Al's efforts to help his daughter end up doing more harm than good, Peter eventually convinces him to stop trying to run her life. With help from a counselor, Laura makes enough progress to reunite with Kevin. When Charles Cabot fails in courting Christine as an ally against Peter, he resumes his angry confrontation with Peter. Elizabeth, the new concierge, recognizes a film director, Harley Magnuson, and manages a romantic rendezvous with him in his hotel room. When Harley's wife arrives unexpectedly and catches them, Elizabeth has to talk Christine out of firing her. Shortly thereafter, Billy is puzzled to see Elizabeth meeting in private with Charles Cabot.
When John Lucas, a Missouri sheriff, checks in, his wife Jenny accuses Billy of murdering her brother six years ago. Charles Cabot informs Lucas of Billy's prison record, information the new concierge, Elizabeth, has provided from Christine's personnel files. Charles tries to use the opportunity to replace Billy with a security chief of his choosing. Traveling fur coat salesman and bigamist Freddy Barnes struggles to keep his two lives separate, when his wife of three years, Sonia, surprises Freddy at a convention to which he has brought his wife of eight years, Barbara. When Elizabeth is revealed as Charles Cabot's daughter, Christine doesn't fire her because Christine has sympathy for the fact that Charles is exploiting his daughter.
A fickle young heiress, Erica Atwood reconsiders her engagement to Chip Lansing, heir to Lansing Chemicals, a company with which Atwood Chemicals is on the verge of merging. To her family's dismay, Erica instead intends to marry Tony Patterson, a wildlife scientist and son of the Atwood's gardener. Tony initially learns of Erica's engagement at a disastrous dinner with Erica and her family. Erica's pragmatic older sister Isabel disapproves of Tony at first, then falls in love with him. Elizabeth seduces Peter's banker to get access to his personal investment file. The information turns out to be useless, and instead of being grateful, her scheming father, Charles, chastises Elizabeth for her wanton ways. Elizabeth later invites a strange man to her apartment; the man brutally rapes her. Because she was foolish enough to let the man in, Charles blames Elizabeth. Through Peter and Christine's mediation, however, Charles and Elizabeth take a small step toward reconciliation.
After army officers Nick Hauser and Rodger Gage check in for a weekend on the town, Rodger has an illicit rendezvous with his gay lover. In a gay neighborhood, street punks beat up Rodger, and Nick learns his army colleague's secret. Nick furiously demands that Rodger leave the hotel. Bellman Dave, who is Rodger's old friend, has a talk with Nick, helping him realize that Rodger is a good friend, regardless of his sexual orientation. Meanwhile, Elizabeth interferes with important communications between Christine and a potential client, making Christine look incompetent just as Charles Cabot is questioning Peter and Christine's managerial capabilities. Elizabeth also schemes to estrange Christine from Peter by spilling wine on her dress while visiting Peter. When Christine arrives to find Elizabeth wearing Peter's robe, Christine assumes the worst.
Charles Cabot tries to revive an old romance with Dr. Hannah Fielding, who is attending a convention of the World Health Organization. Their previous involvement years before had ended because Hannah knew that Charles's first love was his business affairs. Charles woos Hannah into spending the night with him, but she decides to end it there and return to her work with third-world children. Brede Ashlander, a charismatic multimillionaire yet also a domineering husband, hounds hotel employee Marie Lockhart. Marie had fled from him two months ago and now wants a divorce, but Brede tells Christine that Marie is in need of psychiatric therapy. When Brede tries to remove Marie by force, Christine prevents him and assigns the hotel lawyer to Marie's divorce case. When Charles agrees to sell Cabot Corporation's half of the hotel to an Australian conglomerate, Peter refuses to sell his interest.
When hotheaded Drew Fletcher checks in just after being acquitted of murdering his girlfriend, he attracts the attention of Sharon Lockwood, who seems intent on starting an affair with him. Sharon, the sister of Drew's murdered girlfriend, goes to Drew's room with a pistol in her purse, seeking revenge. Her pistol and intentions hidden, Sharon openly offers herself to Drew, but his feelings for his slain girlfriend are too strong to go through with it. Won over by Drew, Sharon confesses her original motive for being there and does her best to comfort him. The hotel staff is stricken by the flu, which increases Christine's anxiety in running the hotel. Peter notices Christine's short temper flare at the staff, her lack of appetite at meals and her inability to enjoy his companionship and love.
Ellen Pierson and her friend Sherry are on a mission to get even with Ellen's husband for cheating on her. Sherry has talked Ellen into finding a random man to have sex with. Ellen's first rendezvous proceeds no further than a passionate embrace, and before she can accomplish her mission, she accidentally discovers that Sherry was the woman involved in her husband's infidelity. Ellen decides to immediately return to her husband and deal openly with his adultery. Peter dreads having to attend an opera board party, fearing that his ignorance of opera will cause the organization to cut its support for the hotel's annual charity gala. Although Christine tutors Peter, it's only by being himself that Peter charms the opera aficionados. Grieving over the death of her infant daughter, Audrey Beck accompanies her husband Jason on a business trip for a change of scenery.
After losing a crucial play-off game, Rick Stoner, a professional basketball star, becomes increasingly distraught when his perfectionist father Frank chides him. Because Rick's older brother was an all-American basketball player before being killed in Vietnam, Rick feels the pressure of constantly being compared to him. Tired of constantly being hounded by his father, Rick decides to end his life; he climbs over the balcony railing of his hotel room and prepares to jump. Fortunately, Peter talks him down and later helps Rick and Frank reconcile. A widow and widower, Ellie and Carter, come together as they reclaim the personal effects of their mates who died in a plane crash. Just as their relationship is deepening, they discover that Ellie's husband and Carter's wife had been secret lovers, but had agreed to end the affair out of love for their spouses.
Criminal psychologist Dr. Howard Bentley checks up on Alex Morrison, a charismatic former thief working at the hotel as part of a rehabilitation program that Peter helped institute. Upon meeting Dr. Bentley's lonely and dissatisfied wife Joanne, Alex can't resist making her his conquest. He succeeds in coercing Joanne to sleep with him and nearly destroys her marriage, but Alex becomes the real loser when Peter fires him and sends him back to his parole officer and most likely back to jail. When Dave resorts to taking amphetamines to help him in his legal studies, Megan becomes alarmed as she sees changes in his personality. While Christine's apartment is being painted, she accepts Peter's invitation to stay with him in the hotel penthouse. Peter wants her to stay on and live with him on a permanent basis, but Christine is uncertain about the idea of living together without getting married.
Amanda Price, an actress-singer superstar, checks in and meets her niece Julie, the hotel employee, for the first time since Julie was eight years old. When Amanda asks Julie to leave the hotel to become her personal assistant, Julie becomes puzzled since Amanda had severed ties with the family twenty years earlier. Amanda also reunites with famous actress Joan Gilbert , who was long ago her friend, but now her enemy. Fueled by champagne, Amanda publicly denounces Joan. Preparing for his bar exam, bellman Dave continues popping pills supplied by his study-buddy. Megan intercepts a pill delivery and shows them to Billy, who identifies them as Black Beauties, a dangerous and highly addictive amphetamine. Megan tries talking to Dave about the pills, but he only becomes more dependent on them. His work at the hotel becomes sloppy, and after he insults a guest, Christine gives him the ultimatum to straighten up or leave.
Bellman Dave's amphetamine addiction takes its toll when he can't concentrate on his bar exams to become a lawyer. Megan temporarily moves in with Julie and is even tempted by the attentions of a handsome doctor. When Dave punches the doctor out in front of the hotel, he's suspended from his job. Dave's descent into addiction is even more painful for Megan as she discovers that she is pregnant with Dave's child. Attractive and young, Hayley Cole gets a job in the hotel antique shop, impressing both Christine and the widower antique dealer, Vernon Bennett. Hayley has recovered remarkably well from a ten-year coma, the result of a car accident in which she was abandoned by the young man who was driving. Hayley still has to walk with a cane and suffers from amnesia. She and the older Vernon share an emotional connection that goes beyond work. At a nightclub, Hayley meets pianist Tony Milner, whom she begins to date.
Wealthy yacht builder Sam Burton tries to lure prominent advertising expert and author Margaret Lawson away from her career. Standing in the way is her handsome young assistant, Jeffrey, with whom Margaret is having an affair. When Margaret gives in to Sam, she finds that he insists on having the final word in their relationship, whereas she's used to having the upper hand with Jeffrey. Billy gives Dave, who is still addicted to amphetamines, the news that he failed the bar exam. Distraught, Dave begs Megan to come home, but she leaves when she finds him strung-out and belligerent. When Julie informs Dave that Megan is pregnant, Dave flies into a rage. Dave's ensuing physical confrontation with Megan sends her to the hospital, where she miscarries. This dose of reality jars Dave to enter a drug rehabilitation clinic. Peter and Christine celebrate the third anniversary of sharing business and boudoir.
A room service attendant, Steve, who keeps his illiteracy a secret, faces personal and professional crises. Steve had to quit school when he was eight years old in order to support his family. His college-bound son, Rob, has a difficult time accepting his father when he finds out about his illiteracy without knowing the circumstances behind it. When Steve turns down a promotion and then tries to quit, Peter won't allow him, offering instead to pay for remedial education. Peter's ex-wife Janet comes to town seeking Peter's help in finding a job. Peter and Janet have stayed on good terms, and Peter gets her an interview at a small San Francisco hotel. Jealous that Peter and Janet are spending time together, Christine confronts Janet, only to learn that Janet has failed the physical exam for the job because she has a terminal illness. Janet realizes that the only person she can turn to is Peter.
Bellman Dave arranges accommodations for his old fraternity, Delta Beta, to celebrate its pledge week. Blaine Chapman, leader of Delta Beta's alumni chapter, is on hand with his son Tony, a college junior and fraternity jock. When one of the pledges, Alan Hewitt, is severely beaten, Dave launches an anti-hazing crusade and takes a beating himself in the process. Meanwhile, Peter's terminally ill ex-wife Janet is afraid to die alone and plays on Peter's sympathies in an effort to steal him away from Christine. Janet asks Christine if she can have Peter for six months, after which Christine could have him back. Finding Janet's idea unacceptable, Christine demands that Peter choose between her and Janet. Peter decides to give Janet his emotional support as a friend, but maintain Christine as his girlfriend. Soon after Peter's decision, Janet suffers from a heart attack and dies with Peter at her bedside.
The St. Gregory Hotel plays host to the 15th reunion of Christine's high school class. Eric Madison, former student body president and captain of the football team, sets his sights on Christine, who was homecoming queen to his king back in 1972. When Eric makes a play for her on the dance floor, Peter steps in and fights Eric, who is obsessed with his shining past. Once the school's ugly duckling and butt of many jokes, Janice Fletcher now heads a publishing firm and is escorted by a suave, attractive man whom she introduces as her fiancé, Mark Fredricks. In reality, Janice hired Mark from an escort agency. Though Mark has a business degree, he thought he could get by in the business world with his looks. Janice and Mark's role-playing carries over into a genuine night of passion. The next day, however, Janice becomes cold and distant, and when Mark tries to convince her of his sincerity, a former classmate, who used to torment Janice, overhears them.
Julie arranges a conference room for sex researcher Dr. Gilbert Holt and his young protege Jeff Finch, in which they can conduct anonymous interviews exploring women's secret sexual fantasies. Jeff meets attorney Melinda Jenkins, without realizing she is one of his subjects. After discovering the coincidence, Jeff follows through with a romantic overnight date. When the truth comes out, Melinda is outraged, as is Jeff's mentor, Dr. Holt, whose study has been compromised. Jeff withdraws from his university in disgrace, but Melinda relents somewhat and asks Jeff to keep in touch. Peter's troubled niece Jody "Jo" Payne I, a precocious 13-year-old tomboy, arrives and announces that she is going to live with Peter. Jo reveals that she cannot accept her mother's new husband and that she has run away from home. Peter enlists Christine's help to convince Jo that she must accept her new stepfather, but the stubborn girl refuses to listen.
Actress Marion Thorne is on location at the hotel for a film being produced by Daniel Kingsford, her long time lover. When Daniel is called away, young screenwriter Tom Jordan woos Marion, asking her to be his wife even after she reveals that she will soon be blind due to a degenerating optic nerve. Honored as the city's woman-of-the-year, Christine ponders the pitfalls of a political career as consultant John Granger assures her he could manage a winning congressional campaign for her. A skid row bum, Anthony Sheridan, once a famous leading man, watches the proceedings on the movie set. Bellman Dave, a movie buff, recognizes Sheridan and convinces film director Victor Polito to audition the actor for a bit part. Sheridan shows up drunk and belligerent, but later has an opportunity to redeem himself with a beautifully recited Shakespeare soliloquy.
Iris Lloyd, a free spirit living a life younger than her 60 years dictate, and her daughter, Rebecca, a conservative career woman, take a tour with a handsome tour guide, Frank Bradford. Despite Iris's flamboyant antics, Frank woos Rebecca. At first, Iris disapproves of her daughter's involvement with a professional escort and cancels Frank's tour. Later, however, Rebecca and Iris have a sincere discussion, and Iris arranges for another week between just Frank and Rebecca. Kate Berrenger, a recent widow and Peter's close friend, seeks solace in the company of the second most treasured man in her life, Peter. Christine becomes distraught after Kate asks Peter to impregnate her via artificial insemination. Christine cannot condone such an arrangement, but she tells Peter that he must decide for himself. After Christine tries unsuccessfully to talk Kate out of it, Billy advises Peter to consider how he would feel if the situation were reversed.
An aristocratic con man, Edward Nicholson, competes with a boisterous Texan charmer, Terry Dolan, in seducing an attractive and wealthy widow, Katherine Woodbridge. Katherine divides her time between the two charming men. Edward and Terry take turns showing Katherine around town. When a woman whom Edward had previously targeted recognizes him, Katherine realizes the truth about Edward. Terry sees the cruelty of his game and voluntarily confesses to Katherine, whom he truly loves. After Edward argues Terry's case, Katherine forgives Terry and takes him with her on a trip to Asia. Christine's first serious boyfriend from her college days, Lt. Commander Tom Hardison, a decorated Navy fighter pilot, checks in for a reunion with Christine. Long thought dead, Tom survived a long ordeal as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and is scheduled to take command of an aircraft carrier in Korea. Tom plans to take Christine along as his bride.
Businessman Franklin Danforth is distracted by Ward Matthews, an opportunistic private investigator who claims he has located Danforth's granddaughter Karen, who disappeared 16 years ago. The detective wants to collect the $100,000 reward, but Danforth angrily dismisses Matthews's claim, having been pestered for years by fraudulent claims. Matthews coaches Karen on details she would remember as Danforth's granddaughter, and eventually Matthews succeeds in introducing her to Danforth. Having spent her early childhood in an orphanage, Karen wants to believe that Danforth is her real grandfather. Although Matthews is exposed as a fraud, Danforth decides to suspend doubt and welcome Karen into the family. After a long, suspenseful wait, Dave receives the results from his second try at the bar examination and learns that he is now a lawyer.
A preacher and her husband are taking a break at the St. Gregory but there is pressure on her to preach on television. A man returns to the hotel and reminisces about a woman he met at the hotel 35 years ago.
Richard Anderson (TED SHACKELFORD), whose wife has been declared dead but whose body has never been recovered, hires a psychic, Natalie Trent (GINGER ROGERS), to verify her death. At a séance, Natalie brings forth the voice of his wife Linda, who accuses Anderson of plotting her accident. Later in Natalie's suite, the real Linda (KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT) appears, having recruited Aunt Natalie for a sting operation to prove her husband's guilt. After figuring out that his wife is alive and in the hotel, Anderson devises a plot to lure both Linda and Natalie to their death. Dave, having passed the bar, seeks employment as a lawyer. While Megan plans to keep her job unless she and Dave have to move out of San Francisco, Dave is offered an interview for a promising position with a firm in San Diego. Christine, whose torrid love affair with her boss Peter has reverted to a less volatile friendship, is dismayed that Peter has chosen another date for the annual Hotel Association Awards Banquet.
Christine decides to move to a larger apartment, but the realtor has promised the apartment to another applicant as well: Michael Casey, a retired airline pilot. Michael gallantly withdraws his offer and Christine helps him find temporary lodging at the hotel. The friendship between Christine and Michael blossoms, causing Peter some concern. Michael starts to get serious about Christine, but she cannot commit herself. Leslie Chase, a former New Orleans socialite, is using a suite to operate an escort service. Peter is an old friend of Leslie's, but he is unaware of the nature of her business. Seeing Christine's involvement with Michael, Peter spends time with Leslie, which sparks a mutual attraction. Leslie adds to her staff of escorts a beautiful model named Dana March. Dana, a close friend of Julie's, has found modeling jobs scarce and desperately needs work. When Julie questions Dana about her new job, Dana brushes her aside.
Garment manufacturer Robert Matthews, whose business brings him to San Francisco twice a month, is having an affair with dress designer Lynn Patterson. Their affair is interrupted when Robert's dutiful wife Gail pays him a surprise visit. Distraught, Gail seeks the solace of an old friend, Margaret Hudson, who advises Gail to win back Robert's love. Meanwhile, Lynn informs Robert that she has tested positive for AIDS and that Robert has been exposed to the virus. Robert knows that if he tests negative, he won't have to admit his unfaithfulness to his wife. Christine finds an abandoned baby in one of the rooms and plays baby-sitter while Billy seeks out the mother. Christine, who had been abandoned by her own father at an early age, relates strongly to the motherless child. Christine obtains permission from the child services department to be the baby's foster parent. Noticing that Christine is getting too deeply involved with somebody else's child, Peter begins to show concern.
While visiting a horse-breeding farm for a possible purchase, Peter becomes the object of 22-year-old Blaine McDermott's affection. Through seductiveness and trickery, Blaine gets Peter alone and draws him into a passionate kiss, though Peter is reluctant. Peter claims that he is engaged to Christine, even though their relationship has actually cooled to a friendship. Later, Christine accompanies Peter to Blaine's family's horse farm, where Blaine puts her rival on a skittish horse, which injures Christine. When Peter finds Blaine naked under the sheets of his bed, he successfully ends the relationship by calling her parents. In town for a job interview, anxiously unemployed David Endicott and his wife Gail are disturbed by the disappearance of sexual relations from their marriage. The recent loss of David's job has plunged him into deep depression, but Gail is convinced the absence of intimacy is the result of another woman. Pressed, David confesses that he is impotent.
Helen Johnson (DEE WALLACE), a married career woman, informs her young boyfriend Gary that she is ending their affair and that her husband and 20-year-old daughter, Monica, are joining her for a family vacation. Seeking revenge, Gary makes Monica's acquaintance in the lobby and begins seducing her, and Helen is forced to confess her affair to Monica in order to derail the vengeful seduction. The new receptionist, Cheryl Dolan, is upset by a surprise visit from her mother, Beatrice, who arrives without luggage or a reservation. Beatrice reveals that she has had a fight with Cheryl's father in Brooklyn and has come out to San Francisco seeking the same independence as her daughter. When Cheryl shows her mother all the downsides to the single lifestyle, Beatrice heads back home to her husband. Peter has a close brush with death that radically changes his outlook on life. As a result, he no longer has patience for his work, thinking instead about a long trip around the world.
High school teacher Nancy Rhodes and lounge pianist Kyle Stanton share a honeymoon suite following their swift, one-week courtship and marriage. Their bliss is suddenly interrupted, however, by the arrival of Kyle's father, George Stanton, a tough, no-nonsense businessman who brands Nancy a gold digger and demands to know her price for an annulment. Nancy, unaware of Kyle's wealthy background, resents the elder Stanton's insinuations. A short time later, she is further distressed to meet socialite Hilary Sinclair, who introduces herself as Kyle's fiancée. Peter is delighted by a visit from his favorite grandmother, Katherine Jenkins, and her best friend since childhood days, Roz Campbell, who has come along to see a heart specialist. Peter is unaware that Roz is his true grandmother. Katherine painstakingly explains to Peter that Roz was 18-years-old, unwed and pregnant when Peter's real grandfather was sent overseas and lost his life in battle. The revelation stuns Peter.
The staff is agog over the arrival of Senator James Powell. He's a leading presidential candidate and Christine, who met Powell during her vacation, is rumored in the tabloids as the woman he plans to marry. Peter regards the rumors with mixed emotions. Billy also has mixed emotions when he learns that Powell's security is in the hands of Ross Reynolds. Billy and Ross grew up together, but when Billy moves to greet him, Reynolds brushes by him. Another hotel employee, Cheryl Dolan, meets Scott Osborne, an unaccredited yet charismatic press photographer who hopes to make a name for himself with his coverage of Powell. Scott's camera case actually conceals the components of a high-powered rifle and his target is Powell. Senator Powell arranges an intimate dinner for two and proposes marriage to Christine, who asks for time to think about her answer.
Alex Shepard, a workaholic husband whose business life is endangering his happy marriage, has been receiving death threats against his lonely wife Donna. To shield Donna from harm, Peter takes her out for a boat trip, since Alex is too busy with his latest business deal. Donna is flattered by Peter's attentions, but becomes angry when she discovers he's only doing it to protect her. She reveals that she doesn't need a baby-sitter: she's been sending the death threats to herself, in order to gain her husband's companionship. Dave is offered an excellent job with a law firm in San Diego, and Megan gives him the news that she is expecting the birth of their first child. Not wanting to lose Megan as her secretary, Christine therefore offers Dave a job on the hotel's legal staff. Since Dave prefers the trial law job, he and Megan quarrel.
Travel magazine editor Myrna Dawson has an irreplaceable heirloom emerald pin stolen and threatens to publish an unfavorable story about the hotel unless it is recovered. Billy contacts Phil Kroger, a noted private investigator specializing in jewel thefts on an international scale. Kroger spots Trevor Harris in the lobby and identifies him as the jewel thief he's been unable to catch. The news is surprising to Christine because Trevor Harris, a very personable man, has already charmed her into considering a dinner invitation. Christine accepts the invitation in order to keep Trevor at the hotel, while Kroger secretly plots to frame Trevor. Ben Garfield and his adoring nine-year-old grandson Jason arrive fresh from a fishing excursion in Yosemite. Ever since Jason's father (Ben's son) lost his life in a skydiving mishap, the boy's mother, Susan Garfield, has resented Ben's influence on the child. Susan is about to remarry.
With Christmas only two days away, new full owner Peter and general manager Christine prepare to host the annual St. Gregory Hotel staff party. Among the honored guests this year are Dave, the ex-bellman who became a San Diego attorney, and his pregnant wife Megan. Peter and Christine, returning from a Portland convention, become marooned in a remote mountain village when their rented Porsche breaks down. Because the local garage doesn't have the auto parts to repair the Porsche, Peter and Christine are forced to stay in a decrepit boarding house room with only one bed. On the second night, Peter and Christine share the bed with a hanging sheet as a partition, but eventually end up in each other's arms. Although they have drifted into friendship, the incident brings them closer together. The hotel party is in full swing as Peter and Christine return and learn that Megan has given birth to a healthy baby boy.
An Elegant matron, Barbara Lyman, swears she's marked for death because she witnessed a murder in the hotel that nobody else can prove really happened. Despite two more terrifying encounters with the killer, Barbara can get little help from Billy or Inspector Chin. The so-called killer turns out to be her husband, who often appears as the villain in Barbara's paranoid hallucinations. Peter books his favorite country singer, Joe Daniels, to perform in the hotel nightclub. Joe's career has deteriorated from alcohol, but he is starting a comeback after a five-year absence. His 18-year-old son Mark, who has his own drinking problem, is disappointed when his father hits the bottle again. Joe's ex-wife Lisa is there too, and tells Joe about his son's developing alcoholism. On opening night, Joe is surprisingly sober, giving them the hope of reuniting as a family.
Peter has given Andrea Green, a photographer-friend of Julie's, a chance at the photo assignment for the new hotel brochure. Andrea's father Louis is highly critical of his daughter's work ethics, which leads to bitter family squabbling. Andrea's mother Sonya, rapidly succumbing to Alzheimer's, begs her husband and daughter to work things out. Architect David Welch befriends Christine and offers to help convert Christine's Napa Valley barn into a home. While Christine and David share a dinner date, David's ex-wife Rebecca visits Peter. Rebecca demands that Peter stop Christine's affair with her husband before the hotel gets caught up in a scandal. Later, Rebecca trips Christine on a stairway, causing her a painful fall. Peter tells Christine to work at home for a few days until he and Billy can get rid of the obsessive ex-wife. Rebecca, however, visits Christine in her apartment and holds Christine at knifepoint as she screams accusations.
Charles Cabot, half-owner of the St. Gregory Hotel, introduces Peter to Lee Jordon, who represents a resort conglomerate interested in buying the hotel. Peter resists any thought of a sale because running the hotel is the only life he wants. Lee is willing to settle for Charles's share and day-to-day participation in running the hotel. Peter obtains a bank loan to buy out Charles's share of the hotel; though Peter's offer is less than Lee's, Charles sells his share to Peter, making Peter the sole owner of the hotel. Two young married couples share a large suite for a brief vacation in San Francisco. Jonas Robinson, a nose-to-the-grindstone accountant, is married to Melissa, a frivolous fun-loving blonde; and journalist Sean Marris, a rakish bon vivant, is married to Kate, a prim, practical woman. A daytrip turns into an impulsive fling for Sean and Melissa, which draws Jonas and Kate together for a more serious affair.
Fashion consultant Sydney Page is unable to find a male model for a new clothing line until she meets Chuck Fisher, the hotel's plumber. Chuck exudes sex appeal, and Sydney tries to talk him into doing a photo session. When Chuck expresses that he hates modeling, Sydney resorts to seduction in an effort to change his mind. They spend the night together, but Chuck still refuses to model. Sydney realizes she'd rather have a man in her life than a model for her fashion campaign, and the two make up. A crusty businessman from Maine, Vein Lambert, whose daughter Joanne has been killed in an accident, comes to gather up her personal effects and take her back to Maine for burial. Lambert is unaware that, for the past six years, Joanne had lived with her lesbian lover, Carol Bowman, the hotel's catering manager.
Julie enjoys a blind date with Billy's friend, Keith Andrews. Later on, however, Julie has to fend off a rape attempt by Keith. The next day, Keith lies, saying that Julie came on strong, and when he resisted, she became very weird. Keith makes a play for another girl in the lobby, Marcy James. Julie tries to warn Marcy about Keith, but the girl ignores Julie's advice and faces severe consequences. While Peter and Christine's romantic rapport dwindles, Peter becomes involved with the interior designer he has just hired, Devon Sloan, a beautiful international socialite. Christine becomes increasingly frustrated as Devon occupies all of Peter's time, leaving her with the overwhelming job of running the hotel. After Devon corners Peter and proposes marriage, Peter consults Christine, who wishes him happiness and exits the office. Once alone, Christine bursts into tears.
Since the announcement of wedding plans for Peter and Devon Sloan, the interior designer hired to re-decorate the hotel, Christine has been depressed. Peter's fiancee has begun to interfere with hotel operations. Unable to convince Peter that Devon's meddling is hurting the hotel's operations, Christine resigns. Peter recognizes Christine's great value, but it's too late. Peter decides that he and Devon are too much alike and neither one could change enough to make their marriage work. Reluctantly, Devon agrees and packs for departure. Later, Peter begs Christine to return. One of the reasons Peter broke up with Devon is the love he still feels for Christine. Cliff Phillips, the personable new assistant manager, is enjoying the rekindling of a friendship he formed with two other men when they shared jury duty a year ago. Tom Conner, the aggressive jury foreman, arranged the reunion with Cliff and Joe Duran for a serious reason.
