Mitch is happy to announce that he is going to work on the beach again, when a new lieutenant arrives to Baywatch. The new lieutenant turns out to be Mitch's old flame Stephanie Holden. Ben meets her first and suspects that Mitch isn't going to like this. When Mitch sees her, he becomes upset and calls Chief Thorpe. Thorpe tells Mitch that it's up to him to decide if she can stay or not. Both Mitch and Stephanie has flashbacks back to 1989 when they first meet. Stephanie was substituting for Jill back then. He met her in the men's locker room. They had a little romance and decided to spend a weekend together in Catalina. But Stephanie never showed up and Mitch was upset for a long time.
This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on the crowded beaches of Los Angeles County. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.