On the premiere of Sunset Beach, Meg Cummings typed a final note to her Internet love, "SB." It was her wedding day, and she was beginning to have second thoughts. Before their final goodbye, SB wrote that if she ever got crazy or wild, she knew where to find him. Later on, all dressed up, she went to visit her fiancé. She was shocked to see him in a liplock with her maid of honor, Connie. She decided to ditch her man at the altar and go to Sunset Beach.

Meg's first stop in Sunset Beach was Elaine's Waffle Shop -- a shop that didn't get too many orders for waffles. After Meg inquired about a picture on the wall, Elaine went into the legend of Sunset Beach. There had once been a European aristocrat named Armando Deschanel. He had engaged in a duel to win the hand of his ladylove. Victory had had a price, and he had been forced to flee the country -- but not before discovering the love he had fought for had not been true.

Elaine explained that Deschanel had arrived on the coast of Southern California, determined to start a new life. As he had stood on the beach, he had wondered if he would ever find true love again. Then, as if by magic, a woman dressed in black had appeared. She had walked toward him until she had stood at his side. Basking in the beauty of the setting sun, they had fallen in love. Armando had known it was the magic of the beach and the sunset that had drawn them together. The couple had married, and he had built a beachfront castle as a monument to their eternal love.

While walking on the beach in the morning, two lifeguards, Casey Mitchum and Michael Bourne, discovered a girl sleeping under the pier. It was Tiffany Thorne, a young runaway who resorted to stealing and lying to survive. She quickly picked up her bags and went to the Java Web. She tried to steal a tip, but her friend, Mark Wolper, caught her. He showed her a place that she could stay for a while. It was a rundown daycare center that Mark had fixed up for her.

Tiffany later stole Meg's backpack. A chase ensued on the pier. Meg accidentally fell from the pier, and Casey rescued her. Casey did CPR then took her to the hospital. There, he met Dr. Rae Chang, on whom he had a crush. Meg got a clean bill of health and was released from the hospital.

Since Meg had lost her money, she wandered by the lifeguard station and noticed Casey typing on a laptop. She was convinced he had to be "SB." Casey caught her, and she told him about how she had lost her money and had nowhere to go. He offered to let her stay at his place. She later called her mom to report that she had found SB. Little did she know that Tim, her ex-fiancé, was listening in and discovered where she was.

Annie Douglas, the spoiled, rich daughter of Del Douglas, got a rude awakening one morning. Her dad found out she had been skipping law school and spending most of her time partying. He threatened to cut her off, but Annie begged him not to. After he left, she tried to think of a way to support herself. She decided to buy a boat but needed to find the money.

Annie went to see Ben Evans, owner of the Deep and Java Web, who promised to give her 50% if she could get the other half from her father. She told him she wished her dad was dead. She approached her father, who balked at the idea. He told her, "You should have your DNA tested 'cause I don't think you're mine." A distraught Annie went home to her jacuzzi.

Eddie Connors, the policeman Annie had slept with the night before, showed up. At first she wanted him to go away, but when she saw Ben looking out his window, she pulled Eddie into the tub. The next day, Annie's Aunt Bette stopped over to report she had gotten access to Annie's trust fund. Unfortunately for Annie, she couldn't get access her money until the next day, but by then, her father would have found out.

Annie headed over to her father's hotel with a gun. She dropped it in front of Olivia Richards and her husband. It was later revealed Olivia was sleeping with Del. Del offered her an ultimatum: either she ran away with him, or he would tell her husband everything. She didn't want to run away with him, but her husband was knocking at Del's door. She agreed to leave with Del and hid out in the bathroom.

Annie stopped over in the evening, and Del berated her for trying to get her trust fund money. He told her he was going to call the police and have her arrested for fraud and embezzlement. He called the police and was told to go to the station in the morning to file a report. Outside the door, Olivia eavesdropped on the conversation.

Later that evening, a figure in a black robe emerged from the stairway. Inside, Del was trying to call Mr. Richards, who was not home. The figure opened the door and shot Del twice.

Michael saved a reporter, Vanessa Hart, from being run down. She was working on an explosive story.

Casey and Rae bought a house together at the auction. The house turned out to need a lot of work, but it had a room with an ocean view. Casey decided to rent some of the rooms out to Mark, Michael, and Meg.

Tim and Meg finally ran into each other. Tim told her he would have dumped Connie for her in a second. She told him she didn't love him anymore and gave him back the engagement ring.

Ricardo Torres got promoted to detective, and his girlfriend, Paula, wasn't too happy about it. She began to question their relationship over his reaction to her pregnancy test. Her mother, Elaine, gave her a videotape. The topic was "Do you know who you are dating?" One thing the show introduced was how one girl's boyfriend had photos of his previous girlfriends.

Paula looked through Ricardo's drawers and was shocked to find just that. Ricardo discovered the tape and questioned her. He joked about having her move in so her mother would know he was serious about Paula. Ricardo got a big surprise the next day when he discovered Paula had moved in.

Ben Evans kept having flashbacks about his dead ex-wife Maria. He had a portrait of her on a swing. Ben called the police when he found out someone had broken into his house. Ricardo answered the call. Maria was Ricardo's sister. He was also SB, the Internet love that Meg -- Internet nickname Dorothy -- was searching for. When Meg had tried contacting him again, he had written her an email telling her he had never meant for her to go to Sunset Beach and that she should stay in Kansas.

Tiffany the troublemaker befriended Meg and bought the sexy blue dress that Meg couldn't afford. Tiffany showed up at the Deep and hoped to get Ben for herself. Later on, she showed up in front of his house on a swing. Ben ran over to her, mistaking her for Dorothy. He yanked her off the swing and told her to go home. Tiffany sprained her ankle then was thrown over his shoulder and carried away.

Around the same time Del was murdered, Ben tried to call Annie and only got her answering machine.