In 2001, Bill Lewis encountered a woman in Texas who was the splitting image of a woman he knew named Beth Raines. That woman was Lorelei Hills and, after establishing that she was nothing like the demure Beth, Bill had a wild fling with her. Later, Lorelei went to Chicago where her life changed forever the night she found an unconscious Edmund Winslow outside a hotel. Concerned, Lorelei helped Edmund who immediately mistook her for his late wife, Beth. According to Edmund, Lorelei was the picture image of Beth Raines. Though Lorelei may have looked like Beth, her personality and bearing were totally different and it became apparent to Edmund that first night that Lorelei was not Beth.

That meeting had a significant effect on Lorelei. Intrigued by Edmund's aristocratic manner and his English accent, Lorelei returned to the hotel the following day and asked Edmund to tell her the story of his late wife. While telling her about not only his relationship with Beth, but also his former position as prince of San Cristobel , Edmund was struck by an idea: he could regain the prosperity he'd lost by Lorelei impersonating Beth! According to Edmund, Beth's ex-husband, Phillip Spaulding, was fabulously wealthy and he'd give Beth anything she'd ask for. The plan was for Lorelei to impersonate Beth long enough to get money from the wealthy Spauldings. She and Edmund would then split the money and then go their separate ways. Intrigued, Lorelei accepted.

However, impersonating Beth was a far greater challenge than Lorelei anticipated. Not only did she have to memorize faces and facts about all of Beth's family and friends, but she also had to learn a whole new way of speaking, eating, and acting. Edmund wasn't making things any easier. A hard taskmaster, he found it almost impossible to teach this brash, unsophisticated woman to act like the genteel, cultured Beth. Luckily, Lorelei was a quick study and, after some false starts, the con began ahead of schedule and Lorelei succeeded in fooling Beth's family.

However, things didn't go exactly as planned. Upon learning that Edmund's relationship with Beth wasn't quite as idyllic as he'd led her to believe, Lorelei immediately distanced herself from him and became close to Beth's ex-husband, Phillip Spaulding. Though she appeared to be working against Edmund, she soon found herself conflicted. She couldn't reconcile the stories she'd heard of Edmund's evilness with the man she knew. Lorelei continued with the con, and though she was starting to grow close to Phillip, she couldn't stop thinking about Edmund who was unlike any man she'd ever known. Convinced that "divorcing" Edmund was the way to go, Lorelei went along with the plan, only to have Edmund try to prevent "Beth" from divorcing him. That's when it suddenly became clear to Lorelei that Edmund did love Beth as much as he claimed; not only that: he cared for Lorelei also.

Though she did care for Edmund, Lorelei continued to feel guilty for what she doing to the Spauldings. At the same time, Phillip started to have suspicious and started investigating what happened when Beth washed away in Mexico. Feeling cornered, Lorelei felt she had no choice but to confess the sordid details of her and Edmund's plan. Though Phillip was content to just have her leave town, Alan wanted her punished and had her placed under arrest. In prison, Lorelei started panicking and suddenly had a vision of being locked in a tower in San Cristobel. Lorelei WAS Beth Raines!