Angela was convinced the land should be hers to add to her already vast holdings, but Chase brought his wife Maggie and two children, Cole and Victoria, west from New York to live in the valley and manage his land. Angela and Chase were constantly in conflict. Angela's first attempt to ruin Chase was to block a badly needed bank loan. She then attempted to undermine his relationship with his son, Cole, by implying that Cole may someday inherit all of Falcon Crest.

When it became obvious Angela wouldn't be taking over Chase's land, she urged her playboy grandson, Lance Cumson, to marry Melissa Agretti, to help consolidate the Agretti and Falcon Crest wineries under her control and thus gain enough control to render Chase powerless. But things did not go as planned and at the first season's end, Chase had gained control of Falcon Crest in a complicated legal manoeuvre. Angela devoted herself to regaining her birthright.

Chase's stint as head of Falcon Crest was in marked contrast to Angela's rule. Whereas Angela exploited her workers and involved herself in unethical business dealings, Chase struggled to act in every one's best interest. When he became county supervisor, he did everything in his power to stop Angela's plan to monopolise the water supply for the entire Tuscany Valley, which would have bankrupted most of the other vintners in the valley. Chase's mother, Jacqueline Perrault assisted Chase in his battles with Angela. Having shared a history with Angela, Jacqueline understood her better than anyone else and welcomed the opportunity to offer her son advice on how to handle Angela.

Lance longed to be powerful like his grandmother, but was too lazy to work for it. He resented Angela's hold over him, but was unable to stand on his own two feet. His wife, Melissa, had plenty of ambition and encouraged Lance to be more forceful. Angela sensed the influence Melissa had over Lance and found herself growing less fond of her. To compensate for his low self-esteem, Lance continued sleeping with other women. Meanwhile, a hurt Melissa turned to Cole for comfort. When Lance learned that Melissa's new-born baby, Joseph, was fathered by Cole, he disappeared with his old girlfriend, Lori Stevens. Before long, a lack of money brought him back to his wife and the luxury he craved.

When his father, and Angela's ex-husband, Douglas Channing died, Richard Channing arrived in the Tuscany Valley to take over the San Francisco Globe. Richard inherited half of his father's 80 per cent interest in the newspaper, while Angela's two daughters, Julia Cumson and Emma Channing, got the other half of Douglas' shares. Richard was ambitious and unprincipled. He wanted the shares belonging to his half-sisters, as well as Carlo Agretti's land and Falcon Crest. Meanwhile, Angela, determined to battle Richard, attempted to buy out the remaining 20 per cent of minority shareholders, using funds from the Falcon Crest winery to do so! Chase discovered her plan and threatened legal action.

Richard was assisted by Jacqueline Perrault, whom he was later told was his mother, to fight Angela, and connived with Julia who was easily manipulated by his charm. The plan backfired but he then fought for, and won, a permit to build a race track in the Tuscany Valley that could destroy the area's entire wine industry. Richard's plans for the Tuscany Downs race-track enraged Angela and Chase when he announced part of the Falcon Crest vineyards would be bulldozed to build it. Richard was confronted by an underhanded underworld figure called Henri Denault, and after a struggle with Richard on a bridge, Denault accidentally fell to his death.

Angela's psychotic daughter, Julia, prompted by a twisted desire to protect her mother, shot Melissa's father, Carlo Agretti. It was later revealed Julia had also had a relationship with Carlo and was tired of his indiscretions with other women. Cole was tried for the murder of Carlo, but was found not guilty. In the second season's cliff-hanger, Chase and Jacqueline were both shot by the unbalanced Julia, after she was convicted of the murder of Carlo Agretti and the attempted murders of Cole, Maggie and Chase.

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