"RETURN OF MAGGIE" from Falcon Crest: A New Vintage
Summary provided by author:
Nearly a dozen years ago, Maggie Gioberti Channing drowned while retrieving a set of antique toy soldiers her sons knocked into the family pool.
Or did she?!
This past fall, strange things began happening in the Tuscany Valley. A mysterious woman quietly observed Richard Channing as he grieved, still, for his beloved wife Maggie at her gravesite. She unobtrusively watched over a dinner between Maggie's grown children and the man claiming to be their father, Chase Gioberti, who was also thought to have died long ago.
The woman also tried to make contact with Lauren Channing, pleading in vain for her help as the latter sped away. And she paid a visit to the Channing Ranch, where her love for the sleeping Mickey, the eldest Channing son, was apparent. The young man awoke, however, to find the antique soldiers next to the pool, leading father and son to believe that someone was tormenting the family with painful memories of the tragedy.
In a stunning turn of events, the mystery woman prepared an elaborate scene for Richard, recalling a romantic evening he and Maggie spent together years ago. But the planned reunion was disrupted by an assassin sent to kill her! Richard returned home to the disturbingly familiar scene, and rushed to confirm what he hadn't dared to hope, but what the security camera images proved: his beloved Maggie was alive!!!
Meanwhile, Maggie had eluded the assassin and returned to the safe house where she'd been directed after her escape from a decade-long captivity. There she interacted with her pre-teen daughter, Carolyn, who was haunted by nightmares of an unknown origin; and with Mrs. Brown, who operated the safe house and cared for Carolyn in Maggie's absence.
In time, Maggie revealed to Mrs. Brown the circumstances of how she was forced to leave the valley. Shortly before the drowning, Richard was preparing to testify against an enemy in exchange for an early release from prison, where he was serving time for SEC violations. His estranged wife, Maggie, visited him and he conveyed concerns that his testimony would place him in grave danger. After he explained his intentions to return home to reconcile with his family and begged her forgiveness for past sins, the two shared a conjugal visit.
Late that night, Maggie received a call saying there was trouble at the jail. Recalling Richard's concerns, she rushed to be with him, first alerting the nanny to her departure. She was pulled over en route by a car with flashing lights. The man who approached was no deputy, and forced her into his car - where she encountered the identical twin sister she'd never met! The two forced Maggie to hand over her clothing, jewelry, and belongings, and the other woman left with them. The next day, the twin masquerading as Maggie drowned.
One night, while watching Carolyn sleeping at the safe house, Maggie recalled a similar evening some months before that lead to her escape. She'd been surprised by a visit from Garth Petersen, Richard's closest associate prior to his arrest. Her relationship with Garth over the years had always been strained, given his frequent interruptions and the fact that he was trusted with more information about Richard's business dealings than she was! So it was particularly ironic that he was the one to find her and Carolyn, and to engineer their escape - all without Richard's knowledge.
Meanwhile, a frantic Richard moved heaven and Earth to try and locate his wife. Already grieving the news that Garth had been killed, he was further shocked to learn that a fearsome organization from his past, "The Cartel," was being resurrected, and that the lawyer (Davor Kansel) who'd handled Garth's affairs after his death was likely involved. In addition, he'd received sobering information from the woman who'd been their nanny at the time of Maggie's death, whom he'd recently hired back on as a housekeeper. She admitted that Maggie had behaved strangely the day of the drowning - seeming happier than she'd been but relating strangely to the children. When Richard realized that the man pursuing Maggie on the security tape resembled Kansel, he set off to search for answers in Europe - ultimately determined to bring Maggie home!
Fearing for their safety and emotional well-being, Maggie hesitated to contact her adult children for help. She also worried for Mickey and for Kevin, her youngest son, knowing that her former captors would likely turn their wrath upon her family if she continued to elude them. Upon learning that Richard had left for Europe and that Mickey had suddenly gone missing, she turned to an unlikely source for help: Lauren Channing. She knew that the woman who'd mothered her sons for the past decade would help her reach Kevin and protect him from evils she was certain had befallen his brother.
An attempt to see Lauren in person at her new residence, the Del Oro Spa and Country Club, lead to a bizarre encounter with the man claiming to be Chase Gioberti. Maggie was startled to realize that there was no recognition of the other on either of their parts, leading her to conclude that the man was an imposter.
Unbeknownst to her, Chase Gioberti really WAS still alive - but was not the man she encountered at the spa. He'd clearly been involved in some aspect of her captivity, and bemoaned the fact that she'd run away. The former-nanny-turned-housekeeper was on his payroll, and he gave her instructions to keep an eye out for Maggie. Finally, he made the decision to take matters into his own hands and accosted Kevin as he left college for the summer!
Maggie's last attempt to contact Lauren for help proved tragic. She surprised Lauren in her room at the spa, and tried to get the woman to move past the idea that she was alive and focus on the fact that Kevin was in danger. Suddenly, the assassin burst in and began firing on the women, leaving both their fates in question.