This daytime serial dramatized the power struggles and personal machinations between two feuding political families the wealthy Cleggs and middle-class McCandlesses. Storylines developed from the star-crossed romance between Julie Clegg and Tyler McCandless, which re-activated a lifetime feud between their respective families. In the series' final year, the political intrigue expanded internationally, as several characters became involved in the problems of the war-torn, Middle Eastern nation of Baraqu.