Santa Barbara  is the story of the powerful Capwell family, and its stubborn and proud patriach. Channing Sr.. This soap opera begins with a flashback five years earlier when Channing, Jr. was shot in his father's office during a party.

Channing Capwell Sr. was married first to Pamela with whom he had a child, Mason. Channing and his first son have a strained relationship. Mason is a lawyer who constantly argues and has a drinking problem. Sophia, a one-time Hollywood actress, was Channing's second wife, with whom he had four children, Channing Jr., Kelly, Eden and Ted.

Channing Jr. had an affair with Santana Andrade, the daughter of the Capwell maid and they had a child out of wedlock. This child, Brandon, was given up for adoption.

Eden Capwell is Channing's second daughter and the most similar to him in personality. Her first appearance in the program is during a party where she parachutes down from the sky. Eden's lover is Cruz Castillo, a Mexican policeman whom she met on the Orient Express during her travels in Europe.

At the time of the Channing Jr. shooting, Joe Perkins was accused of the murder. He was the boyfriend of Kelly Capwell, sister of the victim. Now, five years later, Joe is released from prison and is anxious to prove his innocence, especially to Kelly. She however is engaged at this time to Peter Flint. Eventually, Joe is able to convince Kelly of his innocence in her brother's murder and they get married. During their honeymoon, her ex-fiancee, Peter manages to kidnap Kelly. She gets rescued, but Peter later kills Joe and is also fatally shot by Cruz. Before his death, Peter had written a confession that he was Channing, Jr's murderer, but Cruz Castillo discovers that it is a forgery and reopens the investigation.

Sophia had a lover, Lionel Lockridge and she mysteriously disappears after a shipwreck on his yacht. She is believed to have died in the drowning but in reality was saved by Marcello Armanti. He placed her in a psychiatric clinic to help her recover from her amnesia. When she does return to Santa Barbara, Sophia comes disguised as a man named Dominick. Later she identifies herself as the Countess Armanti.

Lionel is the son of Minx Lockridge, matriarch of another powerful Santa Barbara family. He is married to the eccentric Augusta and they have two children. Their daughter Laken, is engaged to Ted Capwell which causes more problems for these rival families. Warren, their son, works in publishing. Warren falls in love with Maggie Gillis, a policewoman who worked on the Joe Perkins murder case. Maggie's husband is confined to a wheelchair after being paralyzed in an accident at one of the Capwell Industries.

Channing finds out that Countess Armanti is actually Sophia, but he believes that she is still in love with Lionel. He then marries Gina who is the ex-wife of one of his former friends. Gina and her first husband had adopted Brandon, the illegitimate son of Channing, Jr.

The Queen of New Stailand kills her husband but wants to have an heir to gain power to rule her kingdom. She visits a Santa Barbara doctor to have artificial insemination to get pregnant. However there is a mix-up in the doctor's office and he impregnates another patient by mistake.That patient happens to be Amy, Joe Perkins' sister. Her boyfriend is Brick Wallace, the chauffeur for the Lockridges.

TO BE CONTINUED....

The translation was written by Anne Herbert. Thanks a lot

SUMMARY