Viki confided in Elliot Durbin, but Carlo Hesser was pulling his strings.

Carlo sought to find a worthy male heir to someday assume his "throne." He chose Antonio Vega to fill his shoes. Antonio could not escape Carlo's clutches because he desperately needed money to buy back the family diner for his mother. However, because of his prison record, no one would give Antonio a loan…no one but Carlo.

Antonio hated working for Carlo. More than that, he hated lying to Andy. Andy stumbled upon evidence that Antonio was in cahoots with the crime kingpin. Andy found herself immersed in a perplexing dilemma—trapped between her love for Antonio and her allegiance to the police force.

Aware of Antonio's misdeeds, Bo persuaded him to go undercover to get the goods on Hesser. There was one critical drawback: no one (not even Andy) could know of their secret plan. This sticky situation put a severe strain on Andy and Antonio's already tenuous relationship.

While faking insanity, Asa hatched his latest scheme and enlisted the aid of his longtime rival, Max Holden. Asa wanted to get back at Carlo for stealing both the Buchanan money and Alex's affections. The plan was to make Carlo believe he was a dying man. Eventually, Carlo discovered that Max had duped him; he wasn't going to die after all. To get back at Max and Maggie, he trapped them in a cave in North Carolina.

Convinced that they may die in the sealed off cavern, Max tenderly told Maggie that he loved her. They came together in a sizzling embrace. Max and Maggie survived their ordeal after being rescued by Antonio, who returned to Llanview to face the wrath of his enraged employer, Carlo Hesser. Refusing to be intimidated, Antonio called Carlo's bluff and talked his way out of his predicament.

Bo, Marty and Patrick discovered the truth about the Men of 21 conspiracy from a microchip hidden in a book of "Irish airs." To their horror, they learned that the beloved Mr. Kenneally, who had come to Llanview during the summer, was the brains behind the terrorist organization.

Dylan regained the use of his legs and did the gentlemanly thing. He bowed out of Marty's life and returned to North Carolina.