Max and Gabrielle�s romance began in Argentina.

In January, romantic conman Max Holden arrived in Llanview to ask Maria Roberts (a friend of his late mother, Patricia) for a loan to buy a ranch in Argentina. Maria agreed to give Max a substantial loan on one condition: he must somehow find a way to lure Tina out of town. Max eagerly accepted the mission. When Tina got the news of her pregnancy, she left a message on Cord�s answering machine, but Maria got the message first and erased it!

Thinking Cord didn�t care that she was carrying his child, Tina fled town with Max; their destination: Argentina! In Buenos Aires, Max discovered that the ranch�s owner, Don Alonzo, had been murdered. Before long, Max and Tina got mixed up in a dangerous drug ring led by Dant� Medina�whose daughter, Gabrielle, Max had recently romanced and abandoned. In angst over his rejection of her, Gabrielle didn�t tell Max the big news: she was pregnant with his child!

When Cord finally discovered that Tina was having his baby, he headed for Buenos Aires to try to persuade her to return. Kate (who knew that her brother Jamie was part of the drug ring) journeyed with him. Cord and Kate grew close as they shared a sizzling tango in the streets of Buenos Aires.

In the ensuing m�l�e with the drug ring, Max managed to escape, but Tina was taken hostage. Her capturers, meanwhile, tied her up in a raft in the middle of the ocean. Cord arrived in time to witness his wife tumble over the ferocious Iguazu Falls. With Tina presumed dead, Max, Kate, and Cord heavy-heartedly returned to Llanview.