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.

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.

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. While Peter and Christine temporarily cool their steamy romance, an advertising man, Gary Marsh, uses Christine as a model in the hotel's promotion camp