Mitch Buchannon, just promoted to lieutenant, is having regrets about what he is giving up. He has an argument with his former wife Gayle who has filed suit to have full custody of their son Hobie. Eddie Kramer and Shauni McClain are two of the rookie class of '89 to qualify. An Australian immigrant, Trevor Cole, is a lifeguard at a beach club which uses part of the beach overseen by Baywatch, but he alienates Mitch with his arrogant, competitive attitude, which extends to putting lives at risk during a rescue.

Shauni resents being assigned to a lifeguard boat, but when ordered to perform CPR on a young girl who has been rescued, she freezes, and lifeguard Jill Riley tries to console her.

A young women, Laurie Harris (Mädchen Amick), attempts suicide by jumping off a pier, and is rescued by Craig Pomeroy who takes her back to his tower to keep an eye on her. She develops an extreme infatuation with him, and when Craig is about to close his tower, Laurie disrobes and tries to seduce him. Craig rebuffs her, but they are seen by fellow lifeguard Owen arriving to give Craig a lift. Later at Mitch's party, Laurie manages to convince Gina that she and Craig had sex together. Next day, Craig and Gina find a distraught Laurie with bruises on her neck which she says were inflicted by her father, so they let her spend the night in their house. Next morning, Craig visits Laurie's mother who tells him that Laurie's father has been dead for ten years and Laurie was recently released from a mental hospital because she was harming herself. Fearing that Gina might be in danger from Laurie, Craig finds them under the pier with Laurie attacking Gina with a knife. Craig wrestles the knife away from her and subdues her.

Mitch's is ordered to tell his long-time lifeguard friend Al that he is being taken off the beach because he is past his prime. Later, Al takes Hobie on a fishing trip and an accidental propane explosion in the ship's kitchen destroys the boat. Al tries to calm the other survivors as they cling to debris in the water. Among the rescuers is Shauni, who must overcome her fears, and Mitch who, along with Al, try to rescue three people including Hobie trapped underneath the capsized boat on the ocean floor. After Mitch dives to the boat to investigate, he returns to a rescue boat for scuba gear, while Al free-dives and reaches those trapped. Mitch and Al rescue the survivors, but, in the process, Al's legs become tangled in a fishing net, preventing him from surfacing. Mitch dives and releases him, but, despite Mitch performing CPR on him, Al dies. Baywatch arranges a funeral at sea for Al, at which Mitch eulogizes his fallen friend.

Notes: Richard Jaeckel who plays Al Gibson in this episode, also played Lieutenant, later Captain, Ben Edwards from 1991 to 1994. Gina Hecht plays Gina Pomeroy in the pilot, but Holly Gagnier takes over the role in subsequent episodes. Nancy Valen who plays Hallie in the pilot, later became a regular cast member in 1996 as Captain Samantha Thomas.

Brian Austin Green, who would later go on to star on Beverly Hills 90210 has a small role as a boy on the beach in this episode. John Sherrod has a small role as life guard Owen in this episode. Kellie Martin plays Chelsea Carol, a girl in whom Hobie is interested.

Instead of attending summer school, Hobie decides to go power skiing with two friends, whose recklessness leads to a tragic accident. Eddie's lack of financial resources is revealed when Craig finds him sleeping in one of the lifeguard towers.

Notes: First appearance of Garner Ellerbee.

An underwater photographer is attacked and more than a few people believe a sea monster is responsible. With the hysteria over the 'sea monster', Mitch and his fellow lifeguards are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Shauni's work as a lifeguard leads to conflict with a bunch of locals and her father but her father has a change of heart after he learns more about what she does.

Eddie's life is torn apart by the accusation of statutory rape from the overprotective father of a lonely teenager trying to make friends lied to a group of other teenage girls about her encounter with Eddie (which one of the other girls told her father to get rid of her), while Mitch deals with the anger of a paraplegic former lifeguard.

Harvey and Mitch pursue and capture a disgruntled gambler turned high-seas pirate. Meanwhile, Eddie struggles with the disapproval of Shauni's father. While Eddie is walking away from Shauni's sister's engagement party, Kim (Shauni's older sister) gets her hand stuck in the pool pump and luckily Eddie saves her.

Mitch receives news of his uncle's death. He recruits Hobie, Eddie and Shauni to trek to northern California's rugged gold country where he learns his uncle may have found the golden boot. Eddie and Shauni are having problems in their relationship when Eddie is accepted into a year-long lifeguard exchange program in Australia. Meanwhile, two new recruits show up for rookie training season. Drew shoots at the raft. Shauni is taken hostage, and pushed off the cliff. After Eddie and Mitch save her, she finds out that she's not pregnant. Eddie proposes to her. Mitch climbs down with the help of a rope and finds the golden boot; Jed arrives at the trailer. Eddie marries Shauni and they move to Australia.

Notes: Pamela Anderson (as C.J. Parker) makes her first appearance in this two-part episode. Eddie mentions that it was Chief Thorpe's recommendation that lead to his acceptance into the lifeguard exchange program.

Mitch must make a difficult decision when he must choose which boy to rescue from the ocean, and the boy he does not save first ends up in a coma.

Mitch and Cody witness a disaster involving a parasailer and a boat. While heading for the rescue, they are again beaten to the scene by Bayguard, a new firm that specializes in privatizing lifeguards. When the rescue has been completed, Mitch is introduced to Alex Ryker, CEO of Bayguard. She tells Mitch that she plans on going up against him for the county contract as Baywatch's contract is about to expire. The next day, Alex shows the Chief a videotape of some of Bayguard's amazing rescues. She also shown the Chief a tape showcasing the Baywatch team apparently slacking off. Mitch objects, but the Chief thinks Alex's proposal warrants consideration. Later, Mitch tells his lifeguards to start acting like professionals, otherwise they will not have any jobs left by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, when April sees a man having a heart attack, she calls for backup and heads for the water. But Arnold, one of the Bayguards, detains her. This upsets Mitch who brings April to Bayguard for an apology from Alex. When Mitch and April arrive to Bayguard, they see Arnold paying off a stuntman. That stuntman turns out to be the parasailer who almost drowned. Mitch realizes the rescue was a fraud. After that, Cody fakes an argue with Mitch and starts working at Bayguard instead. Alex wants him as her new lieutenant.

When Mitch and Cody have rescued a little girl, it all turns out to be just another training exercise for some kids. While doing this, they are observed by Alex's nephew Timmy, who is mildly autistic and doesn't speak. Timmy loves dolphins and his mom Valerie is taking him to Hawaii where he can visit Dolphin Quest, an organization specializing in providing young children the opportunity to swim with dolphins. When Valerie arrives to the beach and tells Alex that she can't get away from work, Mitch convinces Alex to take Timmy. Cody joins them to participate in an outrigger race. At the Dolphin Lagoon, Alex and Cody want Timmy to swim with the dolphins but he is afraid of the water. When Cody and Alex turn their back on him, he suddenly disappears. They find him with an artist named Wyland who also happens to like dolphins. Later, Cody meets Kali McKenzie, who tells him the outrigger race has been postponed due to a storm. Now Cody does not have any plans so Kali decides to give him a guided tour around the islands. When a boy falls off a cliff and ends up in a cave, Cody and Kali must work together to save him. When they return to the beach, Alex goes to help them out and forgets about Timmy for a couple of seconds.

The episode starts with someone rescuing a surfer in trouble. When the rescue has been completed, the phantom lifeguard is nowhere to be seen. A minute later, J.D. arrives in a lifeguard truck and he is able to see tracks in the sand showing clearly that someone else made the rescue. He tells Cody, Sheryl and Bridget about the incident. Later during a roll call, Mitch is surprised to find out that Alex has hired a new maintenance person, a girl named Jessie Owens. Everyone likes her at first, especially Cody and J.D.. While Cody and J.D. are on patrol, they are surprised to see Jessie jumping off a pier. They are convinced that she is trying to commit suicide. But they soon figure out that Jessie wants to become a stuntwoman. Jumping off the pier was just one of many tricks she has been working on. It turns out that Jessie is the phantom lifeguard when she rescues a little girl named Beth and then disappears mysteriously once again. It does not take very long until everyone finds out that Jessie turns out to be a bad maintenance person. Alex has no choice but to fire her. While Alex is talking to Jessie, she notices scars on her arm. Beth, the little girl Jessie rescued, had the same kind of scars. Later Jessie rescues Sean. When two of Sean's future fraternity pals bury him up to his neck, he starts sinking into a sinkhole. Mitch, Alex, J.D. and Cody assist Jessie during the rescue. When everyone has seen for themselves what a great lifeguard Jessie is, she gets the opportunity to join rookie school that is supposed to start next week. One day, Alex approaches Mitch and tells him that she wants to come out from behind her desk. Mitch knows that she is a lifeguard and a certified paramedic, but still he lets her stay at headquarters.

While Mitch and Newmie are walking down the beach, Mitch tells Newmie about a confrontation he has had with a gang. He tells Newmie that he talked them out of returning. Then suddenly Mitch's tower explodes. That is a warning from the gang. Meanwhile, April meets two tourists from Salt Lake City on the beach. They are named Sherri and Vic. Sherri wants to paint while Vic goes for a swim. When the swells are getting bad, April warns Vic but he assures her he is a good swimmer. A while later however, Vic gets swept under by the growing waves. April tries to rescue Vic but the waves are too big. When April resurfaces, Vic is nowhere to be seen. Many lifeguards arrive to the beach to search for Vic, but they are not able to find him anywhere. Mitch feels sorry for Sherri and promises her to continue the search the next morning. Mitch decides to escort Sherri to her hotel where she tells him that she is pregnant. Later at headquarters when April tries to comfort Sherri, she confronts April and blames her for Vic's death. When Vic's body finally is recovered, Sherri knows for sure he is dead.

When Mitch and Hobie are walking down the beach after a tough day, they notice a strange smell in a tunnel. When they have entered the tunnel, Mitch immediately recognizes the smell. Some workers have accidentally damaged a gas line. One of the workers drops his cigarette into the tunnel and Mitch and Hobie have to run out before it explodes. Later in the marina, Hobie meets his friends Brad, Josie and Randy. Because they are in no condition to drive, Hobie drives Brad's dad's boat. While they are driving, Josie pulls the throttle to full speed. Hobie loses control and it is just a matter of time before the boat turns over. Hobie manages to rescue everyone with the help of Jessie and April. Josie ends up in a coma and Brad tells Josie's father that Hobie caused the accident. Hobie ends up in prison due to reckless driving. His bail is set at $ 300 000. Mitch pays his bail using the deed to his house along with April's money as collateral. When Hobie meets Josie's father at the hospital, he threatens to sue Hobie. The next day, Mitch has to give Hobie the bad news that he is temporarily off the lifeguard roster. Hobie leaves upset and feels like everyone has abandoned him. Mitch takes Hobie to the hospital to meet Josie who has come out of her coma. Josie tells her father the truth that she pulled the throttle. After finding out about the truth, Josie's father apologizes to Hobie.

Craig returns to Baywatch after spending three weeks in Washington D.C. Both Mitch and April notice a change in him. Craig seems more depressed than usual. During a rescue, Mitch rescues the woman, while Craig is stuck with a 300-pound man. Craig is almost knocked unconscious by the man, but Mitch arrives just in time to return them to safety. Mitch is concerned about Craig's health after the rescue. He tells Craig that divorces can be tough and if he needs someone to talk to, Mitch will always be there to listen. Craig just tells him that everything is fine. Mitch and April decide that he needs to talk to Craig. Therefore he plans on taking him paddle boarding.

Just before they are about to go out on their boards, Craig tells Mitch that he has lymphoma. The doctors discovered it early and Craig might live for another ten years. When they have paddled out, they are caught in a fog. While they are waiting for the fog to disappear, Craig starts eating a candy bar that he had stored in a compartment of his wet suit. Of course Mitch wants some and they end up losing it in the ocean. Craig tells Mitch that he is going to break up with April. He does not want her to end up without a boyfriend when he dies. Mitch talks him out of it.

Later a shark arrives and knocks Craig off his board. Craig is knocked unconscious. After Mitch has scared away the shark, he rescues Craig. When Mitch hears a seagull, they know they are close to shore. They end up at San Clemente, an island the military use for target practice. They are arrested by the military and returned home. Craig decides to give his relationship with April another chance. Meanwhile, Cody and J.D. get into a battle of egos. Both J.D. and Cody try to put up the sail on their sailboat. But both of them fail and Jessie is the one who ends up doing it. J.D. is working extra at a local Bally Total Fitness club. When Cody arrives, he starts training the girls for free. This upsets J.D. who thinks that Cody is stealing money right out of his pocket. The two of them also decides to have a churro contest. Cody is planning on entering the Oceanside pre-Olympic triathlon. J.D. tells him that he can do it too. Then Jessie decides to participate as well. Cody and J.D. keeps ruining the race for each other all the time. And in the end, when they have injured themselves, Jessie beats them at the finish line.

The new training center is finally done and ready to be boarded. Jason's individuality becomes a problem as he performs a way too risky jet ski pickup, so Sean wants to dismiss him from the team. After talking to the other lifeguards, Sean decides that he'll try to teach Jason some risk management; basically the skill of preventing accidents - on the sand. Jason learns and does his job perfectly, but three guys would not listen to him, and one of them breaks his neck. Meanwhile, Dawn outstays her welcome when she joins Nick and Allie in their private helicopter ride. All of a sudden they find a boat with no crew, and later find out that a pregnant woman went into labor after falling overboard.