JANUARY-JUNE 1966
Phil Capice terminated his affair with Abby Cameron. A despondent Abby went to Phil's office and prepared to jump from his window, but she was unable to commit suicide.

Mike exposed Victoria Dana as a con woman, and Phoebe dropped the suit against John Barnes. John was grateful to Beth who stood by his side. Martha developed a strong attachment to Phoebe. Bill agreed to Martha's suggestion that they instigate legal adoption proceedings for Phoebe.

Roy went into a drunken rage after discovering Abby and Phil's affair. Roy beat Abby, then left for a confrontation with Phil. While waiting in Phil's office, an unseen intruder pushed Roy out the window to his death. Later, Phil arrived and spotted Roy's body in the alley below.

As their wedding approached, Beth finally admitted to Lee that she was in love with John, and broke off their engagement. When John came to the realization that he loved Beth, too, they became engaged. Lee and Gerry commiserated about their loss and started dating. The Marceaus adopted Phoebe. Handsome disc jockey Rick Oliver mesmerized Phoebe and Liz.

Phil was arrested and Abby implicated as an accessory in Roy's murder. Mike agreed to defend Phil and suspected Andre Lazar's involvement in the crime.

Liz's wealthy father Orin Hillyer donated money to open a Youth Center for Monticello teens. Rick feared his criminal past would render him ineligible to direct the Youth Center, and sweet-talked Phoebe into stealing his police record. Liz's step-mother Laura, bored with her marriage to Orin, was wildly attracted to Rick.

Tony Wyatt remembered killing Roy, then fled to Chicago when Mike started getting close to the truth. Fearing Wyatt would breakdown and admit the truth, Lazar ordered Vincente to keep Tony quiet permanently. Mike and Phil followed Wyatt to Chicago, just as Vincente shot him. Tony survived the shooting and was rushed to the hospital. Lazar beat Mike and Phil to the hospital and murdered Wyatt before he could confess.

Laura Hillyer fell into an extramarital affair with Rick Oliver, having secret assignations in the gardener's cottage at Claybank, the Hillyer estate. While sleeping with Laura, Rick continued to romance Phoebe, too.

Wyatt's murder helped Mike and Winston convince Louise that Phil had been set up by Lazar. Although angry about Phil's affair, Louise realized her husband could never commit murder and set out to prove it.

Lee and Gerry were married, but soon developed marital problems.

Maynard, the Hillyer butler, discovered Laura's affair with Rick, but she threatened to terminate him if he didn't keep her secret. While Orin remained unaware of his wife's infidelity, Rick planned to murder him and marry wealthy widow Laura.

Louise broke into Andre Lazar's hotel room and searched for evidence to clear Phil. Lazar caught Louise, but didn't believe her excuses. He confessed to all of his crimes, then informed Louise that he intended to kill her and frame Phil for the crime. Phil arrived before Lazar could kill Louise. Lazar dragged Louise out of the hotel at gunpoint. Phil pursued them into an alley, where he and Andre struggled over the gun. Lazar was shot and killed. Phil and Abby were exonerated in Roy Cameron's death.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1967
Vera Turek blackmailed Clint Crawford into photographing copies of secret "Project R" at Monticello Electric. Clint feared Vera might reveal he accidentally pushed his alcoholic wife Marian to her death down a flight of stairs during an argument. Clint photographed the project and had it converted to a microdot.

Laura Hillyer was tormented by frequent dreams of murdering Rick Oliver. Orin kept Laura's secret, but urged her to help Martha Marceau's case by testifying at the trial. On the witness stand, Laura told the jury that Rick had pursued her, but she rebuffed his advances, causing the morbid depression Martha had described. Laura's testimony failed to dissuade Pete Quinn's vicious pursuit of Martha's conviction.

Believing her to be Liz Hillyer, David Gideon mistakenly kidnapped Phoebe and held her hostage in Rick's abandoned youth center. After Gideon confessed what he knew about Rick's murder, Phoebe set fire to building to get help. Gideon attempted to kill Phoebe but died in a shootout with the police, who arrived to investigate the fire.

Phoebe told the police that Angela Talbot had seen Rick alive after Martha left his office and that he and Laura were having an affair. A guilty Laura wrote a confession and planned to skip Monticello. As the police descended on Claybank, Orin and Maynard ushered Laura out the back door. Laura sped off with the police in hot pursuit. With no chance of escape, Laura turned the steering wheel sharply and drove off the side of a cliff by Claybank.

The police informed the Hillyers that Laura's car exploded on impact, and she's dead. A distraught Orin read Laura's confession in open court then collapsed. DA Quinn dropped the charges against Martha. Phoebe and Martha reconciled their differences.

Orin was confined to Greenhaven Sanitarium in a catatonic state. Liz closed Claybank and went to live temporarily with Mike and Nancy.

AUGUST-DECEMBER 1967
Adam fought his attraction to Nancy, who made it clear that she loves her husband. Cookie pursued Adam, but his feelings toward her were only casual.

The Monticello News investigation of corruption in Leroy County led Mike and Bill to Harry Constable's riverboat casino.

Liz rejoiced when Orin's recovery progressed, and he prepared to return to Monticello. Liz reopened Claybank but instructed Maynard to remove the oil portrait of Laura. Orin was upset to find Laura's portrait missing and insisted Liz restore it.

Harry hired pianist Julie Jamison to play piano and sing in the riverboat lounge. Harry's assistant Bart Fletcher developed a crush on Julie, who is a dead ringer for the late Laura Hillyer.

Liz was attracted to Steve Prentiss, a young clerk at City Library. Steve and Liz began dating despite Orin's objections to Steve's "wrong-side-of-the-tracks" background. Steve introduced Liz to his sister Ruth Tuttle and Ruth's milquetoast husband Ernie. Ruth encouraged Steve and Liz's romance, though Steve felt inadequate compared to Liz's wealth.

Julie was stunned by the arrival of ex-husband Lloyd Hubbard, who revealed that their divorce had never been finalized. Lloyd physically abused Julie and demanded her money. Julie got Lloyd an audition to play guitar at the casino lounge. Lloyd and Bart sparred over Julie.

Everyone in Monticello was stunned to realize how much Julie resembled Laura Hillyer. Orin obssessed over the memory of his late wife and hallucinated hearing Laura playing the piano at Claybank. Liz scrambled to keep news of Julie Jamison from Orin, but he spotted a picture of her on a playbill.

Ken Emerson tried to dissuade Cookie's interest in Adam, and the two men squared off over Adam's attraction to Nancy. Mike was called away to Capitol City on extended Crime Commission business.

Liz and Steve became engaged. Orin spent all his time at the riverboat, obssessed with Julie. Julie was uncomfortable with constant comparisons to Laura Hillyer, but Harry took notice and decided to use the situation to his own advantage.

Steve's pride prompted him to refuse Orin's offer of a job, and he accepted a dubious position at Harry's riverboat. Harry and Ruth Tuttle flirted outrageously, but Ernie didn't notice. Julie rejected Harry's plan to bilk money out of Orin by exploiting her resemblence to Laura. Harry bullied Julie into complying. Orin insisted that Julie and Laura must have been related by blood. Liz accused Julie of wanting to get her hands on the Hillyer fortune and displayed open hostility toward her. Liz encouraged Orin to date psychiatrist Dr. Katherine Lovell, but Orin only had eyes for Julie.

AUGUST - DECEMBER 1968
Before moving permanently to Peru with Lee, Gerry sold McGrath's boutique to Nicole Travis. Nicole was attracted to Mike, who worked with Nicole's father Senator Ben Travis. Nancy feared the worst when Doug Hastings arrived to involve Mike in the Crime Commission's investigation of a nationwide loan-sharking ring. Cookie fell into a whirlwind romance with handsome PR man Ron Christopher.

Adam represented Julie as she went on trial for Harry Constable's murder. A despondent Julie felt guilty about Lloyd's death and decided she deserved to be punished. Lt. Carey's personal feelings about Adam came out on the witness stand when Carey made Julie sound like a scheming, cold-blooded murderess. Loomis forced Bart Fletcher to testify that Julie plotted Lloyd's murder so that she'd be free to marry Orin and bilk him out of a fortune. Prison matron Eleanor Marchek testified Julie talked in her sleep and confessed to "killing him." Peter Quinn suggested Julie meant Harry Constable, but she insisted she had referred to Lloyd's death, not Harry's.

Sara-Louise Capice returned from a Swiss boarding school and decided to stay in Monticello. Sara and Laurie Karr became fast friends.

Nicole schemed to break up Mike and Nancy's marriage, which was strained by Mike's decision to help the Crime Commission bust the loan-sharking ring. Cookie became engaged to Ron Christopher. Ron's boss Eric Barrington was revealed to be part of the loan-sharking ring. Barrington concealed a coded ledger which contained the names of nationwide "loan shark doctors." Ron accidentally stumbled across the ledger in Barrington's humidor.

Fletcher was wracked with guilt over Julie's predicament and considered recanting his testimony. Loomis hired hitman Johnnie to ensure Fletcher's silence. Johnnie shot Fletcher in the back, but failed to kill him. On his deathbed, Fletcher confessed to Julie that he killed Lloyd Hubbard and framed her for the crime. Julie forgave Fletcher, holding his hand as he died.

Ron told Mike about Barrington's involvement in the loan sharking ring and agreed to help. Mike also recruited Phil Capice to help bust the loan shark ring, but a casual remark from Ron tipped off Barrington. Phil was beaten to a pulp by Barrington's men and lapsed into a coma. Dr. Lacey informed the Grimsley family that Phil might suffer permanent brain damage. An enraged Louise blamed Mike for Phil's condition. The friendship between the Karrs and Capices was strained to the breaking point. Winston and Mattie failed to change Louise's feelings about Mike.

On the witness stand, Adam brutally raked Steve over the coals about his and Ruth's involvement with Harry Constable. A furious Steve argued violently with Liz, then abandoned her for parts unknown. Realizing how much her stepmother really loved Orin, Liz visited Julie in prison and begged for her forgiveness. Julie and Liz had a tearful reconciliation, and Liz vowed to stand by her side. Later, Julie was found guilty of Harry's murder and received the death penalty. Adam scrambled to find the real killer as Julie's execution date approached.

Ron worked with Mike to find Barrington's boss, the true head of the loan sharking ring. Ron's double life with Barrington and the Crime Commission threatened his impending marriage to Cookie.

Going over transcripts of the trial, Adam realized who really killed Harry Constable. Adam leaked a story to the press that Harry had been having an elicit affair and evidence onboard the Riverboat would prove his theory. Adam went to the riverboat and awaited Constable's killer. Roxanne's appearance surprised Adam, but she was only worried about his safety. Later, Ernie Tuttle arrived and confessed that he had killed Harry in a jealous rage after learning about his affair with Ruth. Ernie struggled with Adam then fell to his death on the paddle wheel of the riverboat during a shootout.

Liz and Orin were inconsolable about Julie's fate. Alone in her prison cell, Julie prayed for Orin. Adam arrived at Redstone Prison with news of her exoneration, just as Julie was led to gallows to be hanged.

Orin and Liz cried with delight when Julie appeared at Claybank on Christmas morning. Orin presented Julie with a globe for Christmas, then explained that he was giving her the world -- a well-deserved trip around the world, far away form Monticello. On New Year's Eve, family and friends gathered at Claybank to wish the Hillyers a fond farewell.

FEBRUARY 25, 1969 (EPISODE# 3,352)
Mike is sitting on ledger information that will crack nationwide loan-sharking activity. Adam cautions Mike to be careful, as Senator Ben Travis might take all the credit in an attempt to win the state's governorship. Adam also suggests that no one...Mike, Ron Christopher, Travis, or himself...will be safe until Mike gives the Justice Department a list of loan shark "doctors". Mike is reminded about Phil Capice, whose involvement with the loan shark sting nearly got him killed. Mike receives a letter about Lydia Holliday, Phil's nurse, and learns that Lydia is only a practical nurse-- not a registered one. At Orchard Hill, Lydia catches Calvin goofing off and warns him to shape up. When Calvin mentions Lydia's sister and son, who live in California, Lydia becomes very defensive. Winston and Mattie lament the seemingly tyrannical control Lydia has over the Capice household.

FEBRUARY 27, 1969 (EPISODE# 3,354)
Nicole meets her father Ben Travis at the airport, as he arrives from Capitol City. Nicole wants to be included in Ben's meeting with Mike. Noting Nicole's obvious interest in Mike Karr, Ben insists it's all business...not social. However, Nicole manages to twist Ben around her finger and gets an invitation to go. Adam is dubious of Ben's intentions, especially since Phil was nearly killed before he could testify before the Crime Commission. Mike reminds Adam that Ben had wanted more security for Phil, but Mike had insisted on Phil's anonymity. Mike and Nancy enjoy an early anniversary celebration, since Mike may have to testify out of town in April. With Ben and Nicole on their way to the Karr home, Nancy is stunned when Mike gives her a remodeled kitchen for their anniversary, instead of the fur coat he bought at McGrath's.

Nicole: "Oh father, really. You think I'm dreadful, don't you? An unprincipled homewrecker."
Ben: (wryly) "Well, there have been time, Nicole, when you've displayed an unfortunate interest in other women's husbands."

MARCH 3, 1969 (EPISODE# 3,356)
Back at the Hotel St. Anthony, Nicole continues questioning Ben about his business with Mike and the crime commission. Ben pointedly insinuates that Nicole's only interest in it all is Mike Karr. Furthermore, Ben suggests that Nicole enjoys playing "the other woman" since her ex-husband Duane left her for one. Nicole corrects him, stating that the game isn't about getting Mike Karr, but rather, battling with a worthy opponent like Nancy. Mike promises Nancy that he won't face the same danger Phil Capice did. Before her trip, Laurie announces that she plans to attend State University in the fall. Ben Travis meets with Eric Barrington, and then it's revealed that Travis is actually the head of the nationwide loan sharking cartel. Barrington warns Ben that Mike will have to killed, but Ben fears that Mike copied the list, which could be distributed if harm comes to him. Ben decides that all loan shark doctors must leave the country at once and be replaced with new ones. Those who will not comply will be eliminated. Barrington insists that Ben's plan will take too long, and they need time. Travis laughs that he'll stall Mike as long as it takes, and he'll use Mike's lovely daughter Laurie to do it!

MARCH 5, 1969 (EPISODE# 3,358)
Luncing with Cookie, Nancy discusses her apprehension about Mike and the fur coat he supposedly bought for Nicole. Cookie advises her sister to confront Mike, but Nancy refuses. Louise, walking into the restaurant, spots Nancy and Cookie, and sits down to join them. Louise serves a lot of catty subtext about Mike and Nancy's relationship, then remarks that Nancy's old coat isn't nearly as nice as the fur she's getting for her anniversary. Nicole introduces Ben to her business partner Susan Forbes. Nicole senses her father's nervous, distracted demeanor. Ben excuses himself and calls Barrington. Barrington assures Travis that their men are following Laurie Karr to Somerset.

MARCH 6, 1969 (EPISODE# 3,359)
Still suspicious of Ben Travis, Adam declares that he should accompany Mike to Washington. Mike insists that the fewer people who know about the loan shark ring, the safer they'll all be. Ron Christopher wants to see Barrington. Barrington tells Travis that the loan sharks found about Phil's testimony, after Lousie mentioned Phil's trip to loose-lipped Cookie, who told Ron. Travis hides in Barrington's bedroom while Ron asks Barrinton for time off to get married. Mike and Adam decide that Barrington trusts Ron-- especially since Ron managed to get the loan shark ledger copied and put back before it was missed. Barrington and Travis receive word that Laurie has been kidnapped and is cooperating quite nicely.

MARCH 11, 1969 (EPISODE# 3,362)
After Barrington leaves, a tense Mike and Nancy fight about what to do. Nancy insists they do nothing and follow Barrington's demands without fail, but Mike wants to call Bill Marceau. Nancy is horrfied to learn from Mike that Adam already knows about the loan shark dossier. Ben Travis gloats over Nancy's fears for Laurie, and decides that evil stepmothers must be a fairly tale, since Nancy is obviously distraught over her step-daughter's kidnapping. Barrington contends it would have been easier to kill Mike and destroy the list, adding that now they have Laurie to deal with. Barrington wonders if perhaps it wouldn't be better to just kill Laurie now and be done with it. Thinking of his own daughter Nicole, Travis has a conscience about daughters and vows that Laurie will not be harmed in any way. He suggests that Barrington find a reliable couple to watch Laurie. Barrington knows a couple who would be perfect, a stripper named Mona West and her husband Barney. Mike and Nancy quarrel about whether or not they should tell Adam about Laurie's kidnapping. Mike is about to tell Adam, when Nancy convinces him otherwise. On the phone, Mike lies to Adam, saying that they incorrectly deciphered the code in the loan shark ledger, thus Barrington and the 39 other doctors are legitimate.