Return to Eden

Return to Eden begins when the rich hairess and twice-divorced mother of two Stephanie Harper marries handsome young tennis champ Greg Marsden.

Greg soon begins an affair with Stephane's best friend, Jilly Stewart, and on their honeymoon in Eden (Stephanie's family estate in the Northen Territory), Greg seizes on an opportunity during a sunset boat ride with Stephanie and Jilly to push Stephanie into the crocodile-infested river. She doesn't last long.

Stephanie amazingly survives the attacks and is rescue by Dave Welles, who takes her back to his secret camp in the middle of the bush. He tends to her wounds, nurses her back to health, and three weeks later sends her on her way with a tin of opals to start a new life and a new name — Tara Welles, named after a lost love.

Three weeks after leaving Dave Welles' camp, Tara arrives at Orpheus Island, the home of a resort medical clinic run by Dr. Dan Marshall specializing in reconstructive surgery.

Tara doesn't want to just have her scars covered up, she wants to leave as a completely different person. After extensive plastic surgery and physical therapy, Tara departs.

Meanwhile, it's been eight months since Stephanie's death and Greg is wanting a resolution — a body so he can legally establish her death. Bill McMaster is just as happy for him to wait out the seven years required by law before he can get his hands on Stephanie's fortune and enjoys telling Greg of a clause in her will that leaves Greg nothing should he remarry.

Tara arrives in Sydney and looks in on the lives of her children and her husband. After completing her transformation with a full makeover, Tara strides into a talent agency and confidently proclaims she is looking for an agent, someone who can get her on the cover of Vogue in six months.

While Tara's modelling career has taken off and she has achieved her goal of her first cover, Greg discovers he has been voted off the board of Harper Mining. His is also growing weary of his relationship with Jilly and her desire to get married isn't what he wants to hear.

Tara seeks out Greg while attending a charity tennis match where she catches his eye from the crowd. Greg begins to shift his attentions to Tara prompting Jilly to confront Tara at a photo shoot to ask if she's having an affair with Greg.

The one-time friends go out for drinks and while taking, Jilly tells Tara that Greg never loved Stephanie so she wasn't doing anything disloyal by having an affair with him.

Doctor Dan Marshall, in town for medical conference, makes surprise appearance at one of Tara's photo shoots and the pair reconnect over dinner.

Tara agrees to go away for the weekend with Greg.

When Tara and Greg arrives at his Sydney home, she is surprised to learn her kids are there as well. She isn't recognised (except by the dog) and has the opportunity to spend time with her kids. Son Dennis is welcoming but daughter Sarah is distant, viewing her as just another woman Greg has brought into her mother's home.

Meanwhile, Jilly asks her husband Phillip for a divorce. She is surprised by his reaction and hadn't realised he knew of her affair with Greg from the start. Jilly goes to see Greg only to find him with Tara. Greg explains that he's seeing other women to take suspicion off them. Greg is not thrilled to hear of Jilly's pending divorce.

Tara returns home to find Dan waiting for her. He surprises her by proposing but Tara says no. Tara won't offer an explanation and sends him off saying she doesn't love him.

Returning her focus to Greg, Tara calls him and suggests they go away somewhere they won't be interrupted — Eden. He's reluctant but she talks him into it. Before they fly out, Tara makes one more call, to Jilly, informing her of their plans.

Dan's search for Tara brings him to Joanna Randall. He wants to know if she has been seeing Greg Marsden and explains everything, from Stephanie's accident to her resurrection as Tara Welles. Joanna finds it all hard to believe but upon learning that Dan was her doctor and helped create Tara, Joanna confirms that Tara is seeing Greg.

Meanwhile, Tara makes her return to Eden in the company of Greg. Tara quickly settles into the familiar surroundings but her behaviour soon gives her away to Katy, Eden's housekeeper, and workers Sam and Chris.

Finally alone with Tara, Greg makes it clear what his expectations are but Tara confesses every time he touches her she can't help but think of his wife, prompting Greg to come clean: he, as a failing athlete, only married Stephanie for her money but Tara, she is everything Stephanie wasn't.

Tara's plan for revenge begins to come together with the inevitable arrival of Jilly.

Dan, still in search of Tara, goes to her Sydney home. There he finds her children, Dennis and Sarah, and confirms their suspicions that Tara is their mother. Dan agrees to fly them all up to Eden.

Tara begins setting up the final stage of her plan. She sedates Katy and sends Sam to the police with a message. She 'haunts' an increasingly unstable Jilly before revealing herself as Stephanie. As Jilly and Greg look on, Stephanie explains the whole story of her rescue, recovery, and rage-fuelled motivation to destroy him. Ripping off her 'Stephanie' wig, she reveals herself as Tara.

In the ensuing fracas, the house catches fire, Chris is shot, and an enraged Greg pursues Stephanie through the estate. Greg finally catches up with Stephanie and attempts to drown her but he is shot by Jilly. Injured, Greg stumbles to the airplane to escape but after taking off, he passes out from blood lose and the plane crashes and explodes.

In the light of day, Chris is taken to hospital and Jilly is taken away by the police, who have arrived in response to Stephanie's massage. With the arrival of Dan, Dennis and Sarah, Stephanie is reunited with those she loves.