Brandon returns to Beverly Hills from his summer job in Boston and at Steve's advice, he helps set up a destructive rave party in his parents vacant house. Valerie welcomes Ginger LaMonica, a visiting friend of hers from Buffalo who's as wild and devious as she, and has an eye for Brandon. Meanwhile, Kelly returns to Beverly Hills with a new boyfriend named Colin Robins, a young artist whom she met while modeling in New York City. Donna hosts a party on her parents yacht, while trying to hide her doubts about her future relationship with Ray. Also, Dylan becomes more and more obsessed with avenging his father's death when he visits his family's storage locker and talks with his father's former prison cell mate.

The gang helps Brandon repair the Walsh house after it falls out of escrow, and Steve decides to move in with him and Valerie. Kelly prepares to celebrate her 21st birthday party at the Greek Concert Hall with the gang. Ray becomes the prime suspect in the theft of money and several jewelry items from Donna's parents and others. But Valerie exposes Ginger as the culprit which at the end is revealed to be a scam for the gang to get to like Valerie again. Meanwhile, Dylan goes off in search of the mobster, Anthony Marchette, who was the mastermind of his father's death and decides to commit himself to a personal revenge against him.

As the gang returns to college for their junior year, Dylan shadows and befriends Antonia "Toni" Marchette, the daughter of his father's murderer. Meanwhile, Brandon joins the college newspaper and must deal with Susan Keats, the no-nonsense, stubborn editor and hard-core feminist, who's not very eager to have him working there. Valerie meets Colin for the first time and reveals that they have known each other from a past fling between them years ago which bothers Kelly. Steve's sweet class schedule goes sour when he is forced to hire a math tutor in which Clare volunteers to help him. Also, Ray gets a big audition chance while Colin displays his big canvas the After Dark club.

Brandon and Susan cover the Tournament of Roses Royal Court tryouts in which Kelly, Donna, and Clare are candidates. After his successful return to the stage, Ray gives a command performance to the 11-year old daughter of a record company president. Meanwhile, Toni begins to get to Dylan while he develops feelings for her. Also, Kelly becomes jealous when Colin attends the Rose Ball with Valerie, and Steve tries to find an out to his math tutoring from Clare by tapping in on an Internet dating system.

After David's mother attempts to kill herself, it turns him into a recluse and it brings back bad memories for Valerie over her father's suicide. Meanwhile, Toni invites Dylan and his friends over for dinner at her father's mansion where Toni's bodyguard, Bruno, confronts Dylan that he and Marchette know all about him and his father. Also, Brandon finally negotiates a date with Susan, but dating and newspaper politics sometimes don't mix. Elsehwere, Nat and his chef, Willie, try to catch an elusive mouse at the Peach Pit that's hurting their business, until Donna comes to their rescue.

Kelly, Donna, and Clare decide to take a "just girls" road trip in which Valerie spoils their fun by insisting that she come along. Soon, the trip becomes unpleasant when secrets from their pasts come into the light with Valerie admitting that she has feelings for David, and that she seduced Ray months earlier for no reason aside from the ultimate thrill of it. Donna becomes angry at Valerie, and then at Clare who admits she knew but did not say anything. In a turn of events, the four of them end up stranded for the night in convent after their car breaks down. Valerie also convinces Donna to break up with Ray knowing that he is physical abusive. Back in Beverly Hills, Steve rents out the Walsh house (Casa Walsh) to a movie crew to shoot a porn flick. Meawnwhile, Toni's father comes face-to-face with Dylan over him seeing her. Also, Brandon and Susan's relationship heats up even more.

Valerie can't decide what to do when a professor sexually harasses her, because of her bad reputation as a sociopath and a compulsive, pathological liar. When the professor, Hayward, gives Valerie a 'D' on her term paper after she refuses his advances, David tries to persuade her to press charges, while Susan tries to get Brandon's help to find dirt on the professor for her latest news story. Meanwhile, Dylan and Toni communicate through Bruno after her father forbids Dylan to see her. Kelly refuses to go to Colin's art exhibit when she finds out that there is something going on between him and his agent Claudia Van Eyck. Elsewhere, Clare and Steve plan a romantic night together at a fancy hotel. But naturally, nothing goes as planned. Also, Donna continues her quest to become Rose Queen.

At a Halloween party at the Peach Pit After Dark, a mysterious gypsy named Madame Raven shows up, in which David buys a love potion from her to increase his growing relationship with Valerie, but Steve and Clare accidentally get it instead and end having a very sordid night together. Susan also attends the party with Brandon where she becomes more confused then ever over where their relationship is heading. After Ray decorates the beach front apartment with pumpkins in an attempt to spruce up his sagging relationship with Donna, he has a violent reaction to her new romantic interest, a college football player named Joe Bradley. Colin unveils his new mural at the After Dark, which was inspired by Kelly. Meanwhile, Toni questions her father over his history with Dylan's father who admits knowing Dylan's father promoting her to run to Dylan for comfort.

A major earthquake hits L.A. which traps Susan and Brandon in an elevator with a pregnant woman who goes into labor. Meanwhile, his friends are rocked after Dylan's announcement about his and Toni's engagement. While Donna continues to try out for Rose Queen, she finds a picture of her mother taken during a 1969 Rose competition, while at the same time, Ray's therapist warns Donna that he has a history of being abused as a child by his father and he may harm her.

On the eve of Dylan and Toni's wedding, Marchette sends his thugs to kill Dylan to prevent it from happening. But gets thwarted by the gang's plans for the happy couple. Kelly and Donna throw a bachelorette party for Toni at the beach apartment with male strippers, while Brandon organizes an uneventful bachelor party involving a card game at the Walsh house. The next day, Dylan and Toni finally get married. But afterwords, Marchette requests a meeting with Dylan after failing to dissuade Toni from her marital plans, and plans an ambush to take care of Dylan. Bruno learns about his boss' plans to murder Dylan and tries to warn him. But Bruno's warning comes too late when the plan backfires with Toni taking the bullets by mistake in a drive-by shooting. Meanwhile, Ray threatens Donna after she breaks up with him to attend the wedding with Joe Bradley... just as Ray's therapist had warned her.

Donna's mother, Felice, confesses a past indiscretion to her about her involvement in the Rose Bowl tryouts of 1969, causing Donna to question her own innocence. Meanwhile, bounty hunter Jay J. Jones returns and asks Valerie for help in a divorce case he has by posing as a prostitute in a sting operation to catch the husband in the act. A revenge-seeking Ray charges Joe with battery over their Halloween encounter, resulting in Joe being suspended from CU's homecoming football game. Also, Steve tries to protect the CU mascot, the Golden Condor Head, from the rival college. Brandon mourns the departure of Dylan from Beverly Hills, and Susan encourages him to write a paper about Dylan's plight.

Donna invites NFL quarterback Steve Young over at Casa Walsh for Thanksgiving, one of two surprises she plans for Joe's birthday on that same day. But Donna later learns that she and Joe have a thing in common: they both disapprove of premarital sex. Meanwhile, the absence of Susan and Colin weigh on Brandon and Kelly who find old feelings returning to each other. Steve becomes a surprise hit at Clare's father's faculty party. Also, Valerie disdains cooking help from David's mentally unbalanced mother.

Joe's assault and battery trial begins where Donna is caught in a lie on the witness stand, and Brandon gets a national byline for his coverage of the trial. Meanwhile, the sociopath Valerie once again puts her manipulative skills in action when she tells Colin and Susan about Brandon and Kelly's romantic liaison at Thanksgiving to break them up, while Kelly sees a different and kinder side to Colin when they spend time with her sister Erin.

Steve begins an internship at a talent agency and later tries to comfort his discouraged supervisor, Tammy Kane, after she is dismissed from the agency. Donna covers for the new Rose Queen, Lisa, at her convenience-store job in South-Central L.A. and feels sympathy for a ghetto boy she catches shoplifting. Donna forces Joe to drive her over to the boy's house and learns that the boy, Isaiah, and his two siblings are not supervised at home. Meanwhile, Susan learns more about Brandon when his addiction to gambling resurfaces during a casino-night fund raiser at the After Dark. Also, Valerie and Kelly vie with each other to buy a portrait to pose for Colin.

Cindy Walsh comes home to Beverly Hills for Christmas, without Jim. Colin celebrates his holiday blues by sniffing cocaine which begins to put a rift between him and Kelly. Joe plans the perfect gift for Donna on her 21st birthday that same day; a talking parrot. Meanwhile, Steve's so-called "Christmas Curse" continues when someone's error costs him his job at the agency and incurs the wrath of his father Rush who, being the businessman he is, refuses to believe Steve's innocent claims that his job loss is not his fault.

The day after New Years Day, Clare arrives at Casa Walsh from her Christmas stay with her father in San Diego and listens to the gangs New Years Eve mishap stories which include: Steve babysitting for his two rowdy teenage step-brothers, Ryan and Austin, whom sneak into the After Dark for some rowdy partying. David and Joe skip out on the After Dark party to help Donna peruse her escaped parrot. At the same time, the stress between Kelly and Colin over his drug use escalates to a point of him having Valerie hide his cocaine stash for him. Also, Susan's ex-boyfriend, Jonathan Casten, arrives in town which discourages Brandon when he learns Jonathan's true colors that he wants Susan back for himself.

Kelly's father Bill Taylor, arrives in town apparently to stay, while at the same time, she again catches Colin sniffing cocaine. Joe makes a professional call on Donna's cardiologist father who discovers that Joe may have a certain heart disorder. Meanwhile, Nat refuses to participate in Steve's film festival honoring Roger Corman after the gang sees him in one of Corman's movies from 1972 titled 'Unholy Rollers'. Things take a turn when Joan Diamond, a former actress and Nat's old fiancée, arrives for the festival. Also, Brandon continues to be jealous of Susan's ex-boyfriend Jonathan when he phones to speak to her and Brandon doesn't leave a message for Susan.

Joe's heart condition becomes an issue between Brandon and Susan after they question Donna's father about it, while Donna questions the second opinion Joe received from another doctor. Meanwhile, everyone correctly assumes Kelly is now doing drugs with Colin after Valerie voices suspicions about it. After getting ticketed by the police one too many times for speeding, Steve and Clare are forced to attend traffic school where they meet a TV talk show producer who books them on an episode about bickering couples.

Jonathan returns to Beverly Hills which once again discourages Brandon during a writer awards dinner in which Susan receives an award for a poignant article about a woman's abortion. Later, Susan then reveals to Brandon that she was the woman the article was about in which getting an abortion was the reason that broke up the conservative-minded Jonathan and the liberal-minded Susan. Valerie pretends to be Colin's agent to an art collector who is interested in buying some of Colin's paintings, hoping she will get a share of the money, and that he will quit drugs. But Valerie becomes discouraged when after she sells two of his paintings, Colin vows to continue using drugs because he claims that being under the influence is part of his creative process. Meanwhile, Clare refuses to believe Steve's true story when his Palm Springs "old flame" Elle, (from the P.S. I Love You episode) a transvestite, suddenly shows up and starts flirting with her father. Also, Kelly tries to tell David and others that she has given up cocaine, but no one believes her.

Donna and Clare find Kelly's stash of cocaine in their beach front apartment, prompting her to move out to Colin's for an increased drug binge. Despite Brandon's intervention, Kelly refuses help and brushes everyone off. Joe's heart condition again comes out when he collapses after a biplane flight with Jonathan, Brandon and Steve. But Joe does not want anyone else to know because it might jeopardize his football career. Meanwhile, Valerie's old friend, Ginger LaMonica, inconspicuously returns to Beverly Hills and breaks her deal by blackmailing Valerie by revealing about the jewelry theft scam for money. Valerie refuses to pay, until Ginger offers another option: a sordid night with David.

On Valentine's Day, Clare makes a bet with Steve that he won't fulfill his pledge of celebrating celibacy at a Valentine's Day party that Donna's sorority throws. Meanwhile, Valerie sets Jonathan up with Ginger to keep her away from David, but her plan fails and when David learns the truth about Ginger and that Valerie will do anything to keep her secret, he leaves Valerie for good. Kelly travels to the rough area of L.A. to buy more cocaine for herself, gets kidnapped, and hits rock bottom. Also, Joe gets bad news when his coach tells him that he is off the football team after news of his heart disorder begins circulating.

Kelly gets admitted into a rehab center and meets her mysterious new roommate Tara Marks. While Kelly is away, Colin and Valerie keep each other company, while romance grows on their minds. Donna investigates a new cardiac procedure that could help Joe. Meanwhile, the gang goes to Mammoth Mountain for a ski weekend where Brandon and Susan get stranded on the mountain in a blizzard, and David gets introduced to two girls at the ski lodge with the same name of Mary.

Brandon goes to San Diego for the weekend with Susan to meet her parents, who are still plagued with family problems over the death of Susan's older sister. Back in Beverly Hills, Joe's older brother, Hank, arrives in town for a visit and becomes wary of Joe's planned heart surgery. Meanwhile, Clare doesn't share Steve's joy for his new motorcycle. In rehab, Kelly becomes upset when she learns that Valerie is now seeing Colin, who lives through a high speed police chase to regret doing a favor for his drug dealer.

With Colin in jail, Valerie tries to arrange bail for him. Kelly finally gets out of rehab and moves back into the beach front apartment, and Tara briefly runs away from the rehab center to visit her. Meanwhile, Brandon and Susan, Steve and Clare try to rekindle the romance between Nat and his lost love, Joan Diamond, by taking them out on a triple date. Also, Joe's news of the success of his heart surgery finally relieves Donna.

At a frat party Steve hosts at Casa Walsh, things take a turn for the worse when Steve's two teenage half-brothers, Ryan and Austin, start drinking excessively in which Ryan passes out and almost dies from alcohol poisoning. When Rush finds out, being arrogant and narrow-minded as usual, naturally blames Steve for the near-disaster. Valerie brings Colin to the party, who's between incarcerations. Meanwhile, Tara gets out of rehab and moves in with Kelly, Donna and Clare at the beach front apartment. Also, Kelly invites Greg, a med-student from the rehab center, over to the party and whom ends up saving Ryan's life.

During Spring Break, Brandon and Susan, Steve and Clare, Joe and Donna take a camping trip where three comely female campers from Canada distract the guys from their girls. Back in Los Angeles, Tara, who turns out to be an obsessed psychotic, proceeds to sabotage Kelly's relationship with Greg and take her place, and her identity. Meanwhile, Valerie tries to get Colin to make up with his long-estranged, blind, Vietnam veteran father who comes for a visit.

Donna works on a music video with David which lands her in front of the camera as the star, making Joe jealous. Meanwhile, Brandon lands a big job opportunity back in Boston that could sink his plans with Susan for the summer and perhaps beyond. Tara continues to be obsessed with assuming Kelly's identity and causes renewed hostilities between Kelly and Valerie as part of her plan. Also, Steve fears a reprisal after he accidentally ruins Clare's only memento of her late mother.

Steve is impressed by Clare's childhood friend Carl, who is actually a prince. Donna and David's music video of her and Powerman 5000 is a hit with everyone but Joe. Meanwhile, Colin receives his prison sentence of two years after his attorney makes a deal with the D.A. Tara flips out when she discovers that Kelly had called her parents and found that she ran away from them years ago. Tara then kidnaps Kelly and plans to murder her to end their "pain," via a murder/suicide, until Kelly managed to overpower and subdue her.

Brandon and Susan play the lottery and win $5,000, but they lose the winning ticket. Valerie is left hanging when Colin bails out on going to jail. He then visits Kelly for a while before fleeing town. Meanwhile, Steve becomes more friendly with Prince Carl, until a fall down a flight of stairs breaks Steve's jaw, leaving him speechless. David and Donna's fame as video producers spreads in which their video producer Erik, wants them to make another music video. Also, Joe finally returns to football practice.

Ray Pruit returns to Beverly Hills as Donna and David's first video-production assignment for MZA. Meanwhile, Colin prepares to flee the country while Valerie asks Brandon and a reluctant Kelly to help her in finding him. Joe decides to quit football and choose a new course for his life by moving back to his hometown in Pennsylvania and wants Donna to come with him, but she declines. While Steve is still incapacitated by his broken jaw, Carl takes Clare out on a date who becomes wistful over Carl's memories of her mother.

Carl hosts Steve's weekend long 21st birthday bash on the ship Queen Mary in Long Beach, where the music group "The Goo Goo Dolls" entertains. Carl then asks Steve a favor: to have a chance with Clare who he has had a crush on. David and Donna grow more intimate while their producer Erik, makes a move on Donna and other women as well. Andrea Zuckerman arrives in town to have fun at Steve's party, and Nat brings Joan along who keeps feeling unwell. Meanwhile, Valerie hires an FBI agent, named Richard Ballen, to find Colin who's in the area trying to get access on a ship to take him to South America. Also, Susan tells Brandon that she has decided to leave town to accept a job offer at a newspaper company in Washington D.C. which makes him wonder if he has a future with Susan after all.

On the Queen Mary, Steve tells Clare about Carl's feelings for her and tries to persuade her not to fulfill Carl's wish. Meanwhile, David and Donna decide to get back together, while still avoiding Erik. Joan tells Nat that she may be pregnant from her constant sickness. While Colin is trying to get the necessary papers and identity to leave the country on a freighter, Steve and Brandon end up in jail from a barroom brawl after taking out their frustrations on drunken bar slobs in which Kelly and Valerie have to bail them out. Eventually, Nat proposes marriage to Joan who accepts. Colin is finally caught, Steve and Clare get back together, and Brandon coldly breaks up with Susan after she admits her career means more to her than anything.