The series was set in Chicago.
The link between the Marshall and the Whitmore families extends back three generations to when Vivian Potter (Lynn Hamilton) and her young daughter Ruth (Joan Pringle) lived in the Whitmore mansion. Vivian worked as housekeeper and nanny for Rebecca Whitmore (Patricia Crowley, later played by Dorothy Lyman) and her daughter, Laura (Gail Ramsey).
Committed to rising above her humble beginnings, Ruth grows into a savvy and enterprising woman. Her strength and determination to improve her position in life is fueled by her husband Henry Marshall (Taurean Blacque, later played by James Reynolds). With the help of their longtime friend, Rebecca Whitmore, an attorney, Henry was able to finance his own business, Marshall's Chicago Ice Cream. With five stores, he now provides a prosperous life for his family and Vivian, who lives with them. Their three children are Chantal (Sharon Brown, later played by Debbi Morgan), a lawyer; Jacquelyn Marshall Rhymes, a homemaker and mother; and Adam Marshall (Kristoff St. John), a college student.
Rebecca Whitmore, who was an heiress to her father's fortune, suffered an enormous financial and emotional setback when her ex-husband, Peter (Ron Harper), squandered her inheritance without her knowledge and seemingly abandoned her and their marriage. As a divorced mother forced to make it on her own, she earned a law degree and eventually a partnership with a prestigious law firm. Her daughter Laura has been married many years to a successful advertising executive, Trevor McCallum (Andrew Masset), and has three children, the oldest being Monique (Nancy Sorel), a college student. Rebecca's other children are J.D. Whitmore (Gerard Prendergast), a once-successful rock star who is struggling to make a comeback, and Stephanie (Kelly Rutherford), nicknamed Sam, also a college student. Sam rose to become one of the series' most beloved and popular characters despite her early reputation as a troublemaker. Adam, Monique and Sam are childhood friends and all lived together in the same apartment.
