College aged Kevin Gibson met Frannie Hughes at Yale where they enjoyed a whirlwind courtship. Unfortunately for Kevin, things soured between them and when Frannie was expelled from Yale, she returned home to Oakdale. Wanting to repair their relationship, Kevin followed her and begged her for another chance. Soon, Frannie's family learned the reason behind the couple's break-up---Kevin had impregnated his old girlfriend, Marie Kovacs. Upon learning that Marie had lost her baby, Frannie warily agreed to give Kevin a second chance. Wanting to impress Frannie and her family, especially her father, Bob, Kevin settled down in Oakdale and landed a training position at Walsh Enterprises as a junior executive.

Unfortunately, Kevin and Frannie's relationship would deteriorate quickly thanks to Marie Kovacs. After telling Frannie that Marie's baby wasn't his, he became furious when Frannie told him that she'd written to Marie. Caught off guard by his anger, Frannie began to have doubts about Kevin. Those doubts intensified thanks to the arrival of Marie. Marie told Frannie that Kevin had lied: Her miscarriage was really an abortion that Kevin paid for, which was of course a lie. Marie swore that was the last time she'd heard from Kevin, and Frannie believed her. Kevin was upset and vowed to get Marie's diary, which would prove everything, even if he had to strangle her to get it. When Kevin confronted Marie, she told him he belonged to her, not Frannie. After Kevin left, Marie started a new diary. In it she scribbled about how she and Kevin had passionate, violent sex that night. After Marie gave herself bruises, she told Frannie Kevin had raped her, and warned Frannie to be careful. Frannie didn't know what to think. Kevin was quick to deny everything and stormed out to find Marie, while Jay Connors comforted Frannie. Frannie finally told Kevin it was over. His reputation getting more and more sullied because of Marie, Kevin tried to break into her apartment to steal her diary but was arrested. Thankfully, Frannie's brother, Tom Hughes, was able to get the charges dropped.

Unfortunately, thanks to Marie, Frannie turned away from Kevin and started becoming closer to a man named Doug Cummings, the owner of a club called "Caroline's." Determined to win Frannie back, Kevin got a job at Caroline's to be closer to her. However, Marie was still making life very difficult for Kevin and so one night, he went to her apartment. Angry beyond belief, Kevin violently pounded on Marie's door but her response was just to call the police and have him arrested. Later, Marie warned Frannie that Kevin was a dangerous man. Desperate to clear his name, Kevin attempted to bribe Marie to confess that she'd been spreading lies. Loving the control she had over Kevin, Marie told him she'd think about it and kept his check for $ 1,000. Finally, on Halloween, Kevin had enough and demanded that Marie either sign the confession or return his check. When she refused, Kevin shouted that she better or he'd kill her. That same night, Kevin would find Marie's dead body, with a black ribbon around her neck.

Now a suspect in Marie's murder, Kevin was more desperate than ever to find Marie's diary. Finally, he seemingly received a call from a man named Cal Randolph claiming to have the diary. Asked to meet Randolph at the yacht basin, Kevin was shocked to find yet another dead body, Cal's! Seconds later, the police arrived, and Kevin was arrested on suspicions of murder, but he was far from the only suspect. One mark in his favor was the revelation that there had been murders similar to Marie's in Chicago. Suddenly, Marie's murder wasn't just an isolated incident but the workings of a serial killer. In the midst of all this turmoil, Frannie had become closer and closer to Doug and the couple became engaged. Meanwhile, in the midst of all of this, Frannie's stepmom and aunt, Kim, found herself the victim of a stalker. Finally, everything came to a head when both Kevin and Bob figured out that Doug was the one harassing Kim! Realizing that Doug was a dangerous man, Kevin and Bob rushed to find Doug, who was with Frannie and Kim.

Before they got there, both Frannie and Kim learned what a madman Doug was. A tortured soul, it was he who was murdering young women who had gotten pregnant. Confessing that he'd only gotten involved with Frannie to get close to Kim, Doug, who had been the one who killed Cal Randolph and Marie, was killed by his assistant Marsha Talbot when he tried to rape Frannie. Immediately afterward, Marsha turned her sights on killing Frannie. It was at this moment that Kevin and Bob rushed in the room. Seeing what was about to happen, Kevin leapt between Marsha and Frannie, taking the bullet himself. The ordeal finally over, Kevin died in Frannie's arms.