Angela Channing (Jane Wyman), the formidable and much-feared owner of Napa Valley's Falcon Crest winery; and Angela's nephew Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), the son of her late brother Jason, from whom he has inherited 50 acres of Channing property. Arriving in California to assume control of his land--and to rescue the Tuscany Valley from the iron grip of Angela, who controls the local water rights--Chase brings along his wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan) and his children Cole (William R. Moses) and Victoria (Jamie Rose). With gimlet-eyed determination, Angela begins formulating plans to chase Chase all the way back to New York, using every trick in the book up to and including pitting young Cole against her father. She also relies upon the legal chicanery at the disposal of her somewhat less than ethical attorney, Phillip Erikson (Mel Ferrer) All that is holding Angela back from declaring all out war on Chase is the fact that she has innumerable skeletons in her closet, beginning with the complicity of her own daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) in Jason's "accidental" death. Meanwhile, Angela's indolent playboy grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), eager to prove his worth to the Channing family by going after Chase himself, succeeds in only pulling off stupid stunts like sabotaging the Gioberti pump house. In the course of events during the first season, Victoria Gioberti falls in love with ranchhand Mario (Mario Marcellino), incurring the wrath of her parents in the process. Rebelling against her mom and dad, Victoria runs off to the streets of San Francisco, where the sharkish Lance introduces her to a producer of porno films. Later on, Lance lands a job at the "San Francisco Globe", a newspaper managed by Angela's ex-husband Douglas (David Selby). In this capacity, Lance enters into a relationship with Melissa Agretti (Ana Alicia), a romance engineered by Angela in hopes of gaining control of the competing Agretti winery. Though Melissa and Lance can't stand each other (he's still messing around with former girlfriend Lori Chapman, played this season by Cindy Morgan), she accepts his proposal, pursuing a hidden agenda of her own. When word comes that Melissa is pregnant, Angela assumes that Lance is the father--but he isn't. Meanwhile, Lance's father Tony Cumson (John Saxon), who deserted both his son and his wife (and Angela's sister) Julia (Abby Dalton) years earlier, adds to the existing aura of tension and hostility by suddenly resurfacing. Also working at the "Globe" is Chase's wife Maggie, who begins digging into the mystery of Jason Channing's death at the behest of her boss, Douglas Channing (Stephen Elliott)_. Just before the coroner's inquest, Douglas himself dies, while the only other person who may hold the key to the mystery, Angela's daughter Emma, is kept under sedation and out of the jury's reach. During all this intrigue, Lana Turner is introduced as Chase's mother Jacqueline Perrault, who seems to have all the "dirt" on Angela and her questionable business practices. As the season ends, the findings of the inquest result in Chase gaining control of Falcon Crest, though he generously (and to his later regret) allows Angela to retain ownership of half of the business; and upon the death of his father, Douglas Channing's illegitimate son Richard (David Selby) takes over the "Globe" lock, stock, and scandal.
