TV-PG
S1 • E1
In 1986, we are introduced to six friends after they graduate from high school in an upstate New York town. Carla Noll is in love with her best friend Aaron Lewis, but who is in love with Jenna Moretti a fame-seeking starlet, who does not return Aaron's affections. Craig Brewster and Will Malloy are best friends despite their backgrounds (Will comes from a poor family and Craig from a wealthy family). After the graduation ceremony, Craig and Will get into a car accident when they collide with a pickup truck while driving drunk. Craig begs Will to take the rap for the drunk driving accident because it will hurt Craig's chances of getting into Brown University since Will is not going to college. Will, out of blind loyalty to his best friend, does... and he soon regrets it when the driver of the other vehicle dies and Will is charged with manslaughter. Craig's girlfriend, Samantha Carlson, confides in Carla that she is pregnant with Will's baby. But Sam keeps it a secret for she about to go to London for college, Craig's goes off to Brown, Jenna goes off to Hollywood to make it as an actress, and Will's goes off to jail. Fast forward to 2006: one of the group has been murdered, and the rest of them are all suspects when Detective Kenneth Marjorino interviews the sulking, chain-smoking Carla about their time after graduation.
S1 • E2
In 1987, Carla and Samantha are still in London, when a very pregnant Samantha goes in labor and gives birth to a baby girl. Samantha gives the baby up for adoption, but has a change of heart. Back in the U.S., Will has been released from prison, and needs to cope with what others think of him for taking the fall for Craig's drunk driving accident. But other problems for Will arise when his former cell mate, also paroled from prison, forces him to help him in a robbery of Craig's house in which the gun used ends up in Craig's possession... and is revealed to be the murder weapon. In Hollywood, Jenna struggles to find an agent and manager for her slow-staring acting career, while Aaron struggles to find the right job. In the present, Carla is still telling her story to Detective Marjorino. The detective gets more evidence to tie in the recent murder to events that happened a few years ago.
S1 • E3
In 1988, the competition between Craig and Will for Samantha grows, causing Will (who now works for Craig's ruthless, businessman father, Russell) to cross some ethical and legal lines. Meanwhile, Samantha has finally tracked down her baby daughter in New York. After the hostile adoptive parents warn her to stay away, she and Carla hatch a plan to keep tabs on the child by having Carla charm her way into the parents household to hire her as the baby's nanny. The appearance of Jenna's meddlesome and sexually aggressive mother threatens to overshadow her first movie premiere when she makes a pass at EVERY man there. Aaron tries to mend his broken heart by moving to Seattle. Back in 2006, Detective Marjorino's interest in the murder investigation is revealed to be more than just professional when he interviews Will, who's now a Catholic priest, where it's shown that Marjorino's father was the victim of the drunk driving accident in 1986 which Will took the rap for Craig.
S1 • E4
In 1989, after Craig proposes marriage to Samantha, the upcoming nuptials bring out old rivalries as Samantha must choose between marrying Craig, or staying with Will. Meanwhile, Will pays the ultimate price for the one crime he did commit when FBI agents approach him to force them to take down Craig's unscrupulous father. Aaron returns from Seattle with a secret, and Jenna puts her own acting career ahead of Carla's who's now involved in helping the Phillips with their marriage when she discovers that Paul Phillips is a domestic abuser who hits his wife, Meghan, whenever he's in a bad mood. Back in 2006, Detective Marjorino learns he's carried a grudge against the wrong man for 20 years when Will tells him about taking the fall for Craig's drunk driving accident that killed his father. Also, Carla receives an anonymous letter... from someone who claims to know who the murderer is.
S1 • E5
In the present, Marjorino is happy because he found someone important in his case and will get a statement. In 1990, Jenna is filming a movie in New York City, but has to come back home when she learns her mother is in the hospital... dying from AIDS brought on my her promiscuous lifestyle. Meanwhile, Craig has a meeting with his father's accountant about the company which is in bankruptcy due to the FBI investigation to his father's unethical business means. Craig wants to keep his father's company afloat, but things are not going to be easy. Carla is afraid that the secret of her becoming Amy's nanny so Samantha (now married to Craig) could see her will soon be discovered. Carla, with Samantha's help, plots to get Meghan and Amy away from the abusive Paul, but soon begins to fall for the misogynist businessman and she ends up seducing him. Elsewhere in Europe, Aaron meets a beautiful French woman, named Pascale, while on a Prague train heading for Brussels and he has a one-night stand with her. Also, Will enlists in the U.S. Army and after training in boot camp, receives orders to go to Kuwait for Operation Desert Storm.
S1 • E6
In the present, two teenagers, who are having a few beers by the East River in New York, discover the murder weapon: a .45 pistol which was disposed by Carla... and formerly owned by Craig. Marjorino has a chat with another one of the friends: Craig who is now a Washington D.C. senator and is confided to a wheelchair. In 1991, Will, back from Kuwait, visits Jenna at her new house by the beach in Los Angeles where he has to do a favor for a friend from his army unit by bringing the bad news to his sister of his death in combat. Meanwhile, Craig and Aaron work together to open their own Internet company and hire an attractive secretary named Rachel. While Craig is not there, a shady man, named Lloyd, drops by their office and has an offer for Aaron. In New York, Carla is still Amy's nanny, and it's Amy's first day in school. Carla has Paul come with her to pick up Amy at the end of the day but the child is nowhere to be found. Samantha is revealed to be aiding Carla in kidnapping Amy (who's still unaware of her true origins) to keep her away from the abusive Paul.
S1 • E7
Things get testy when the six friends gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving in 1992. Aaron brings as his date, his co-worker Rachel, whom he doesn't realize that she has a motive for wanting to come: Craig. Jenna brings her movie-star husband and it quickly becomes apparent that the marriage is a sham. Samantha thinks something is going on between Rachel and Craig, and she wonders if she picked the right guy. Will brings his girlfriend Vanessa, his former Army buddy's sister, but is still carrying a torch for Samantha, while Russell Brewster shows up and demands that Will be thrown out, still blaming him for the collapse of the Brewster Group. Meanwhile, in the present day, Detective Marjorino's 20-year obsession for revenge against his father's killer and now the investigation of Samantha's murder is taking a toll on his marriage. Back in 1992, a young Marjorino meets his wife for the first time, and plots to murder Will.
S1 • E8
In the present, Craig and Will visit Samantha's grave. They are joined by a young man who claims that Sam deserved to die. Eventually, all the other friends arrive to visit Sam's grave. Back in 1993, it's Samantha's birthday, and she is now a medical resident at a hospital in New York. She has a rough day where a patient of hers dies. We later find out that she is the mother of the young man at the grave in the present. Meanwhile, Craig wants to become a state assemblyman. At Bedford High School, Jenna meets the students to tell them about her acting career, but she confides in Will that her career is faltering. Also, Aaron learns that Pascal got pregnant from their one night stand three years ago, and he is now a father to her daughter Chloe.
S1 • E9
In the present, Rachel is questioned by Detective Marjorino who thinks that she is a possible suspect for Samantha's murder, while Craig is revealed that he's only pretending to be crippled. Back in 1994, a hopeful Carla gets her romantic hopes crushed by Aaron and another man, named Peter. Pascale is pregnant again and Craig's old flame wants to ruin his name. Craig and Samantha are interviewed by a reporter, named Elise, concerning Craig's political life and the campaign. Of course, the reporter has dug some dirt about them and throws it in their face to see their reactions. Samantha is outraged by the reporter when she finds out Craig might have cheated on her again. The other friends will help the couple do some damage control. Later, all the friends celebrate Christmas, where Jenna's latest flame is a struggling musician named Brad.
S1 • E10
In the present, someone tries to murder Detective Marjorino by running him over with a car in a dark alley that will send him straight to the hospital. Will is on the scene and accompanies the detective in the ambulance. Back in 1995, Samantha and Craig set Will up for a blind date with Katherine Clark. The four of them have supper at Samantha and Craig's loft. Will and Katherine seem to hit it off. But Will's smile will soon vanish when he learns more about Katherine's family... Meanwhile, Carla gets a proposition she can't refuse. Aaron and his wife, Pascale, go to couple's therapy. Also, Jenna learns one of Brad's secrets.
S1 • E11
In the present, Craig learns that his mother has died, and decides to attend her funeral. Also it's discovered that Henry is the one responsible for attempting to murder Marjorino, fearing he would get too close to a strange secret... but apparently not involving Samtantha's murder. Back in 1996, Will meets with Katherine's congressman father. The three of them go hunting together, which results in a fight between Will and the Congressman when something horrible happens and Katherine's father is killed. Meanwhile, Carla and Jenna are at Samantha's house where they talk about Katherine and Will among other things. Carla and Peter are trying to have a child, after their recent elopement. However, while working at the hospital, Samantha receives some test results for Peter, which seem to say he has leukemia. Single father Aaron has to take care of 13-month-old Noelle and five-year-old Chloe and also cope with work. After a hectic day and many problems, he calls on one of his best friends to help him out: Jenna.
S1 • E12
In 1997, after Pascale left Aaron, it seems Jenna moved in to help take care of Chloe and Noelle. When Pascale comes back and wants custody, a court battle ensues. During the trial, it becomes apparent that while Jenna was living with Aaron, their relationship was not totally platonic. Meanwhile, Carla is at the hospital with Peter, who is sick with leukemia. The doctor informs them that the chemo is not working, but a bone marrow treatment can be quite affective. Carla meets with a medical claims offer who explains bone marrow treatment is not affective. However he insinuates that if Carla were to sleep with him, he could find a way to get her the money. Carla is thoroughly disgusted and calls Aaron to ask for money. Aaron says his assets have been frozen due to Pascale's paternity suit. Carla finally decides giving the claims officer what he wants may be the only way to save her husband. Contemplating what she is about to do, Carla receives a call from Aaron saying his assets are unfrozen and he has money they can borrow. Finally, Will learns the truth about Amy that she is the product of his and Samantha's tryst 11 years earlier.
S1 • E13
In 1998, Craig is turning 30. Aaron decides to throw him a party that will lead to unfortunate endings for both of them. Jenna finally gets a significant working proposal. Meanwhile, Samantha tries to fix things up with Will as they join forces to search for the missing Amy. Also, Carla encounters someone from the past.
Aaron Lewis
Samantha Carlton
Will Malloy
Craig Brewster
Carla Noll
Jenna Moretti
Detective Kenneth Marjorino
Detective Matos
Russell Brewster
Pascale