JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1967
Vera Turek blackmailed Clint Crawford into photographing copies of secret "Project R" at Monticello Electric. Clint feared Vera might reveal he accidentally pushed his alcoholic wife Marian to her death down a flight of stairs during an argument. Clint photographed the project and had it converted to a microdot.

Laura Hillyer was tormented by frequent dreams of murdering Rick Oliver. Orin kept Laura's secret, but urged her to help Martha Marceau's case by testifying at the trial. On the witness stand, Laura told the jury that Rick had pursued her, but she rebuffed his advances, causing the morbid depression Martha had described. Laura's testimony failed to dissuade Pete Quinn's vicious pursuit of Martha's conviction.

Believing her to be Liz Hillyer, David Gideon mistakenly kidnapped Phoebe and held her hostage in Rick's abandoned youth center. After Gideon confessed what he knew about Rick's murder, Phoebe set fire to building to get help. Gideon attempted to kill Phoebe but died in a shootout with the police, who arrived to investigate the fire.

Phoebe told the police that Angela Talbot had seen Rick alive after Martha left his office and that he and Laura were having an affair. A guilty Laura wrote a confession and planned to skip Monticello. As the police descended on Claybank, Orin and Maynard ushered Laura out the back door. Laura sped off with the police in hot pursuit. With no chance of escape, Laura turned the steering wheel sharply and drove off the side of a cliff by Claybank.

The police informed the Hillyers that Laura's car exploded on impact, and she's dead. A distraught Orin read Laura's confession in open court then collapsed. DA Quinn dropped the charges against Martha. Phoebe and Martha reconciled their differences.

Orin was confined to Greenhaven Sanitarium in a catatonic state. Liz closed Claybank and went to live temporarily with Mike and Nancy.

MARCH-AUGUST 1967
Clint accompanied Gerry to Mexico for her divorce and planned to exchange the microdot of Project R to Paul Koslo and Alex Gura, other agents. Alex hid the microdot in an antique cuckoo clock Gerry bought. Mike and John Barnes were enlisted by CEA director Ephraim Webster to stop the exchange. John was beaten severely by Paul Koslo and hospitalized. Gerry realized Clint was involved espionage and stalled her divorce to Lee.

CEA agent Adam Drake arrived in Monticello to assist Mike with the Project R case. Adam was attracted to Nancy, while Cookie became infatuated with Adam.

Alex planned to doublecross everyone and sell the microdot himself. Jessica Webster, wife of CEA director Ephraim, was revealed to be the head of the Project R spy ring. Jessica shot and killed Alex, but couldn't find the microdot. Adam realized a feather found near Alex's body was a plume from Jessica's feather boa. Adam persuaded Nancy to pretend to have an affair with him in order to convince Jessica that he wasn't one of the good guys.

Colonel Ben Hatcher worked with Adam and Mike to bust Jessica. The microdot was found in Gerry's clock. Jessica and Paul took Hatcher's son Tommy hostage in exchange for the microdot. Clint decided to come clean about Marian. Vera tried to kill Clint, but while struggling with him over a gun, she fell to her death down the stairs. Attempting to flee Monticello, Jessica and Paul were killed in a violent shootout on a military airstrip. Tommy Hatcher was unharmed and reunited with his parents.

Gerry reconciled with Lee and left for New York.

AUGUST-DECEMBER 1967
Adam fought his attraction to Nancy, who made it clear that she loves her husband. Cookie pursued Adam, but his feelings toward her were only casual.

The Monticello News investigation of corruption in Leroy County led Mike and Bill to Harry Constable's riverboat casino.

Liz rejoiced when Orin's recovery progressed, and he prepared to return to Monticello. Liz reopened Claybank but instructed Maynard to remove the oil portrait of Laura. Orin was upset to find Laura's portrait missing and insisted Liz restore it.

Harry hired pianist Julie Jamison to play piano and sing in the riverboat lounge. Harry's assistant Bart Fletcher developed a crush on Julie, who is a dead ringer for the late Laura Hillyer.

Liz was attracted to Steve Prentiss, a young clerk at City Library. Steve and Liz began dating despite Orin's objections to Steve's "wrong-side-of-the-tracks" background. Steve introduced Liz to his sister Ruth Tuttle and Ruth's milquetoast husband Ernie. Ruth encouraged Steve and Liz's romance, though Steve felt inadequate compared to Liz's wealth.

Julie was stunned by the arrival of ex-husband Lloyd Hubbard, who revealed that their divorce had never been finalized. Lloyd physically abused Julie and demanded her money. Julie got Lloyd an audition to play guitar at the casino lounge. Lloyd and Bart sparred over Julie.

Everyone in Monticello was stunned to realize how much Julie resembled Laura Hillyer. Orin obssessed over the memory of his late wife and hallucinated hearing Laura playing the piano at Claybank. Liz scrambled to keep news of Julie Jamison from Orin, but he spotted a picture of her on a playbill.

Ken Emerson tried to dissuade Cookie's interest in Adam, and the two men squared off over Adam's attraction to Nancy. Mike was called away to Capitol City on extended Crime Commission business.

Liz and Steve became engaged. Orin spent all his time at the riverboat, obssessed with Julie. Julie was uncomfortable with constant comparisons to Laura Hillyer, but Harry took notice and decided to use the situation to his own advantage.

Steve's pride prompted him to refuse Orin's offer of a job, and he accepted a dubious position at Harry's riverboat. Harry and Ruth Tuttle flirted outrageously, but Ernie didn't notice. Julie rejected Harry's plan to bilk money out of Orin by exploiting her resemblence to Laura. Harry bullied Julie into complying. Orin insisted that Julie and Laura must have been related by blood. Liz accused Julie of wanting to get her hands on the Hillyer fortune and displayed open hostility toward her. Liz encouraged Orin to date psychiatrist Dr. Katherine Lovell, but Orin only had eyes for Julie.