Giselle Ormand was a shrewd business woman who took no prisoners. She owned and operated the Highwind Ski Resort, a luxurious New England vacation spot. On the evening of the resort's twentieth anniversary, family, friends, and even a few foes gathered together to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately, on what was supposed to be her most glorious night, the ultimate disaster occurred. The party came to an abrupt halt when a bitter gunman stormed the event, taking the guests hostage. He was Pete Sorenson, the son of Giselle's former business partner, Gene Sorenson. Gene had been committed to a mental institution years earlier, and Pete felt Giselle was to blame, cheating his father out of his share of the Highwind and its profits. Pete vowed to make Giselle and her family pay for all they had done in ruining his own.

The news media got hold of the story. Those who weren't attending the soiree were horrified to learn of their loved ones' predicament. Everyone in town waited with bated breath for some sort of intervention or resolution to the standoff. But local news producer Benton Bradley was sick and tired of waiting around. His wife, Tisha, and his two teenage children were trapped inside with the madman. He ran in, in an attempt to save his family before it was too late. The police chased Benton into the party hall, but their presence spooked Pete, who shot and injured both Giselle Ormand and Benton's daughter, Misty, before taking a bullet himself.

The three gunshot victims were taken to the hospital, while the rest of St. Laurent was left shaken by the event.

Giselle's ex-husband, Vincent Guthrie, was very concerned for her welfare, much to his new, younger wife Martine's chagrin. Vincent and Giselle had maintained a friendly relationship over the years, and Martine was jealous of the attention he paid to her.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Giselle and Misty recovered. Pete Sorenson, however, took a turn for the worse. In the middle of the night, his IV bag was poisoned by an unknown assailant. Giselle later confided to Vincent that she'd hired news reporter Sonya Cortes to do the dirty deed, fearing Pete would survive his wounds and continue his quest for vengeance. Pete was presumed dead, but was secretly revived by Derek Wolf, a young doctor at the hospital. When nurse Tisha Bradley discovered Pete alive in the hospital morgue, he had no choice but to kidnap her to keep her quiet until he could leave town. Pete and Derek conspired to make a getaway from St. Laurent, but first, Pete locked Tisha in his family's mausoleum to keep her from revealing that he'd survived.

Martine's daughter, Josie, was a rebellious teen who had a tense relationship with both her mother and her new stepfather. She craved attention from everyone but from Remy Ormand most of all. Remy was Giselle's youngest son. He owned a nightclub in town alongside his older brother, Beau, but there was one problem with Josie's infatuation: Remy was taken. He was dating a model, Elisabeth Emery, and remained oblivious to Josie's affections.

Elisabeth's return to town following a worldwide modeling campaign brought up some old insecurities in her sister, Erin. Erin had always felt plain and boring next to her sister. She ran a book café in town, while Elisabeth was always jetting around the country for modeling jobs. Erin had recently started dating Giselle and Vincent's son, Charlie, and she was worried that he would leave her for someone more like her sister, seeing as he could have any woman he wanted. Charlie assured Erin that she was the only woman he wanted to be with. Erin tried to believe in her relationship with Charlie, but she had other worries as well. She'd been having strange headaches for some time and collapsed one day. Her mother, who was visiting town to introduce her daughters to their only-recently discovered half-brother (a product of a long-hidden affair between Erin and Elisabeth's father and his secretary), instead found Erin unconscious. When Erin woke up at the hospital, Lucy Emery told Erin what the doctors had learned -- Erin was pregnant.

At the same time, things were about to take a turn for the worse between Elisabeth and Remy. The Bel Ami Club was hosting a party, and Josie Singer dragged her friend BJ along. She was determined to make a play for Remy that night, whether Elisabeth was there or not. BJ and Josie were underage, but Remy was working the door and let the two in, as long as they promised not to drink. When Elisabeth had to leave the party early, Josie cornered Remy, who'd had a bit too much to drink. She attempted to seduce him, and though he initially said no, Josie's persistence paid off and the two slept together. Remy immediately regretted his decision and told Josie they couldn't be together. The situation made him realize how much he loved Elisabeth, and he knew he had to come clean with her. When he admitted his mistake, Elisabeth refused to forgive him. It was over between the two of them. Remy drowned his sorrows, and, seeing no chance of salvaging things with Elisabeth, went looking for Josie, who was all too happy to comfort him.

Soon after she was abducted, Benton Bradley began a desperate search for his missing wife, Tisha. He enlisted the help of his friends, Sonya Cortes and her boyfriend, Jasper Kent, a local police officer. They got a break in the case when a Highwind employee, Monique Champlain, reported seeing Pete Sorenson near the local cemetery driving a hospital van. They found and rescued Tisha and set out to catch Pete and Derek after Tisha told them all she knew about her kidnapping.

As it turned out, Martine Guthrie was involved in the hostage plot as well, in a behind-the-scenes capacity. She was irrationally jealous of Vincent's relationship with Giselle and hated knowing her husband loved his ex-wife more than her. She'd been the one who coerced Pete Sorenson into launching his attack on the Highwind in the first place, and she also convinced Derek Wolf to help Pete escape the hospital after his shooting. Vincent Guthrie overheard all of this and was furious with his new wife for what she did to Giselle. Martine said she only did it because she loved him, but Vincent would have none of it. Vincent called the police and had Pete and Derek arrested for their crimes. Martine managed to escape punishment, but only after making a deal with Vincent. She was little more than a slave to her own husband, unable to leave him, spend his money, or do much of anything without his consent. And if she disobeyed him, he would tell everyone what she had done...

During her recovery, Giselle was forced to take a leave of absence from the Highwind. Her doting son, Beau, took a greater role in the resort's day-to-day operation. One night, Beau discovered a hidden office at the Highwind. It contained old French business documents. He couldn't read them, so he enlisted the help of his brother Charlie's girlfriend, Erin Emery. Beau and Erin ended up trapped in the secret room together when the door locked behind them, but together they discovered that the documents proved Pete was lying in his accusations about Giselle. They said that Gene Sorenson willingly signed over control to Giselle. Unfortunately, what Beau didn't know was that the documents he discovered were forgeries planted by his mother long ago to cover her tracks. The truth was, Giselle Ormand had cheated Gene Sorenson out of his rightful fortune, then had him committed to keep her illegal dealings a secret!

Sonya Cortes's guilty conscience weighed on her. She knew she'd sold herself out to Giselle Ormand for some quick cash. She thought it was the right decision at the time, stopping a madman from striking again, but she was disgusted with herself for what she did to Pete. To make things right in her mind, she set about finding the truth about Giselle and Gene's former partnership. She visited Gene at the asylum and realized that Giselle had set him up, committing him to the facility so she could take over his share of the Highwind.

With Sonya's help, Gene was released from the mental hospital and immediately paid a visit to Giselle. He said he only wanted what was his -- to be business partners again -- but Giselle refused. She'd worked too hard for everything she had now to give Gene any of it. When Gene threatened her with legal action, Giselle snapped and shot him in the living room of her own home. As Gene died, Beau Ormand witnessed the entire event -- and realized how wrong he'd been about his mother all these years.