Back To Square One - Season 1

First aired: 5/5/2003 20 episodes

Episodes

1. Episode 1

Aired: 5/5/2003

Computer firm owner SAM takes his wife, MAY, and his two children, LONG and CATELINE, to the alumni gathering. His old schoolmate MING wants to buy one hundred computers from him. Just when SAM feels excited to have done a big business, a group of police officers comes and arrests MING. SAM immediately breaks with MING. MAY’s mother FUN asks SAM’s mother HEUNG to teach her how to cook dried abalone. What she actually wants is to steal HEUNG’s luxurious abalone. SAM’s business partner, WONG, has gone missing; SAM’s company is on the line of danger. MING invites SAM to work with him. He leaves SAM an envelope, on which written the words “Five hundred thousand dollars”. Have no idea of what to do with it, SAM seeks advice from his lawyer friend CHANG. Police officers HING and LING follow SAM when he is returning the bag to MING. WONG hides in Pan Yu……

2. Episode 2

Aired: 5/6/2003

Incapable of repaying the heavy debts, WONG commits suicide by jumping into the sea. SAM is pulled into the sea while he is trying to stop WONG. LING questions SAM about his relationship with MING. WONG is petitioning for bankruptcy. The bank tightens SAM’s credit limit in no time. MAY has mortgaged the apartment that they are living without SAM’s knowing it. With the money, she has bought two luxurious houses to lease out. However, neither of the tenants pays their rental on time. MAY turns to her friend GIU for help, whom lends her two hundred thousand dollars. CHANG takes SAM to a gay bar to chill out. A gay man called JO is interested in SAM. The next day, JO goes to SAM and suggests SAM entering into partnership with him. SAM goes to a hotel with JO for a detailed discussion. SAM mistakes that JO wants to have sex with him. He is very scared and he leaves immediately. SAM and MAY take their children to swim……

3. Episode 3

Aired: 5/7/2003

In order to stall off SAM, who is going to the bank, MAY pretends to have stomachache. SAM learns about the truth anyway. MAY has no choice but to make up another lie. GIU nervously takes back her bankbook from LING. LING finds it very suspicious. LING’s boss puts pressure on her to arrest MING and his group. LING asks CHOENG, who is a triad member, to collect the evidence of MING’s guilt. She also asks him to disguise as a bank staff to call GIU and check her account balance. LING discovers that the two hundred thousand dollars in GIU’s account has gone. She questions GIU and then reckons that MAY has cheated GIU of her money. LING is very angry. CHEONG volunteers to help LING get back the money from MAY. MAY sees that CHEONG writing dirty words on her car. She calls GIU to see what is going on but GUI’s number is always in use……

4. Episode 4

Aired: 5/8/2003

When the drunken SAM gets home, MAY tells him they still owe the bank over a million dollars. SAM is very depressed. The next day, he leaves home early in the morning. CHEONG chases MAY for the debts and the two end the scenario in the police station. LING tells MAY that SAM is heavily in debt because of his failing business. SAM has gone missing. MAY worries that SAM will have sex with JO in order to repay the debts. When CHEONG hears this, he takes MAY to different gay bars to search for SAM. JO calls MAY to pick up SAM at a hotel. When May gets to the hotel, she beats JO up, thinking that he has had sex with SAM. Fearing that his creditor will hurt his family, SAM takes them strolling in the streets until late night every day. May decides that she cannot lead this kind of life any more and so asks SAM to go bankrupt. SAM rejects the idea at once and tells her off……

5. Episode 5

Aired: 5/9/2003

MAY has been paying insurance for FUN. An amount of $420,000 of dividend has accrued on the insurance; MAY forces FUN to give her a share. LING asks MAY to return the debts for GIU. MAY does not have a car now. She has to make do with the bus when taking the children to and from school. Knowing that the family is undergoing a financial crisis, LONG gives MAY his savings, which impresses MAY much. MAY has thought of paying GIU back with her dividend, yet after second thought decides to keep the money. LING gives an IOU with MAY’s signature to CHEONG, asking him to collect the debt. CHEONG asks MUN for the money. When MAY and SAM know about this, they immediately ask LING to return the money to MUN. LING refuses to do so. The bankruptcy order has been activated. SAM and MAY from now on have to report their expenditure to the government. MAY has not declared the two hundred thousand dollars……

6. Episode 6

Aired: 5/12/2003

LONG and CATELINE are thinking of selling their toys for money. MAY promises them their quality of life will not be affected. SAM and an ex-subordinate of his apply for the same job. This sub-subordinate tells the interviewer that SAM has gone bankrupt, which affects the interviewer’s impression on SAM. SAM goes to another interview for the post of computer store manager. He meets his enemy WONG there. In order to increase the chance of getting the job, SAM tells the interviewer WONG was the person who led to his bankruptcy. MAY’s sister CHING is promoting credit cards at a university. HING’s son LEUNG comes and stirs up troubles. GIU has paid up MAY’s debt to the government. MAY feels uncomfortable about this and she swears that she will repay GIU four years later. SAM and his family are moving to a new house. MAY puts the two hundred thousand dollars inside a teddy bear doll. But then she has left it in the street……

7. Episode 7

Aired: 5/13/2003

In order to help ease the burden, HEUNG and MUN work respectively in a supermarket and for a newspaper. SAM’s heart sinks when he learns about this. When CHING is worrying about her credit cards promotion job, she meets SAM’s brother YAN. She is not letting him go for nothing. ZHEN and FUN suggest a blackout at home and they force CHING to give them more pocket money. CHING wants to buy a pair of sneakers which is hard to get in the market, but LEUNG has bought them before her. CHING forces him to sell the sneakers to her. HING’s ex-wife WA has come back from a business trip. She treats LEUNG to a dinner. LEUNG tells WA is short of money and asks her for more pocket money. He, however, uses it all up on going out with classmates. MAY spends her savings on buying presents for LONG and CATELINE. She takes them to a prestigious restaurant for tea and SAM happens to see them. He later finds the two hundred thousand dollars in a tissue box.

8. Episode 8

Aired: 5/14/2003

Under SAM’s duress, MAY finally tells SAM the story of the money. SAM thinks that this is unlawful and asks MAY to report the money to the government. The following day, MAY runs away with the money. CATELINE has a fever. SAM takes her to the hospital and as a result is late for work. SAM is sacked. SAM is puzzling in the street when he sees MAY rush into the bank to look for CHING. He follows her, only to find that there is a robbery. The robber is holding CHING hostage. YAN comes to her rescue but the robber manages to escape. Meanwhile, LING and her teammates arrive and request a body search. With the money with her, MAY is worried. CHING gives YAN a watch which is in fact a premium from her company. YAN is glad to receive it anyway. LEUNG is requested by the bank to repay his credit card debts. LING is waiting for KEVIN, owner of a bar whom she met recently. Her hope turns out to be a letdown when she discovers that he is a playboy……

9. Episode 9

Aired: 5/15/2003

CHEONG sends LING flowers and at the same time tells her colleagues the story behind. HING plans to investigate MING and SING’s illegal soccer betting activities. He sends LING to get into a dinner party to find out about SING’s telephone contacts. SING asks for LING’s identity and LING, in order to get out from the trouble, grasps CHANG and asks him to teach her to dance. LING is so attracted by CHANG’s gentlemanly behavior that she leaves her missions behind. MAY is taunted by her colleagues on her first day at JO’s company. Meanwhile, SAM is put down by other parents when he is picking his children up at school. A financial company calls HING and WA, saying that LEUNG owes them one hundred and eighty thousand. HING and WA are very angry and they put the blame on the other. LEUNG tries to mediate them and promises to settle the debts by himself. MAY has to work overtime; SAM has to go to the market and do the cooking himself.

10. Episode 10

Aired: 5/16/2003

LEUNG cannot afford the debt. He plans to petition for bankruptcy. WA fears that this will affect his future and so asks HING for help. HING applied for an early retirement. This way he can use his pension to pay the debts. LEUNG is touched. He cuts all his credit cards up in front of HING and swears that he will be very careful with credit cards in the future. LING treats CHANG to a dinner to thank him for teaching her. LING is more ladylike when she is with CHANG. It is payday. MAY buys her children presents. MAY helps her colleague take a document to a beauty centre, which is run by an old friend of hers. Her friend gives her some coupons and a VIP card. MAY cannot control herself anymore and tries out the service there. Unfortunately, LING catches her red-handed. The case has been reported to the Official Receiver’s Office. MAY is speechless when she is questioned by the officers there.

11. Episode 11

Aired: 5/19/2003

MAY has no alternative but to lie, claiming that she has an affair with Jo and that the money is given to her by him. Knowing that SAM and the children have overheard what she said, MAY explains to SAM in no time. CHEONG asks LING out to the movies but is turned down. On the other hand, CHANG asks LING to go for a boat date. LING dresses up and CHANG is very impressed. The two can no longer control themselves and have sex. Both CHANG and LING have been told that a relationship that starts abruptly will have no happy endings. They therefore choose not to see each other again. MAY takes LONG and CATELINE to JO’s office. When LONG sees JO’s name card, he remembers MAY has once told him that she has an intimate relationship with JO. CATELINE is very upset to learn this and she tells MUN everything. MUN is angry and decides to investigate MAY in secret. MAY is buying some expensive steaks when she bumps into LING……

12. Episode 12

Aired: 5/20/2003

MAY and SAM pretend to be a loving couple in front of MUN and HEUNG. CHANG picks his ex-girlfriend ANGEL up at the police station, which disappoints LING. In order to pursue LING, CHEONG tries to curry favor with her mother. GIU is very happy and decides to pair up LING and CHEONG. HING tells LING about GIU’s idea. LING wants to make it clear to CHEONG that she does not love him, so she invites him to dinner. While they are having dinner, someone is chasing after a thief. LING joins in the chasing but she carelessly falls down. ANGEL would like to get back together with CHANG but he turns her down. MAY takes a document to JO’s home and overhears his argument with his subordinate. JO is very upset. MAY worries that he will commit suicide so she accompanies him the whole night. The next day, the mother of one of CATELINE’s classmates sees MAY leaving JO’s home. She then tells everyone she meets that MAY has an affair with someone……

13. Episode 13

Aired: 5/21/2003

MAY has gone nuts. She tries in vain to ask money from FUN. LONG and CATELINE are upset to know that their parents are having conflicts. YAN asks CHING out. CHING gives YAN a stone doll that she made; YAN is very pleased. CHANG finds out that KEVIN is a playboy and so goes and beats him up. Having been rejected by LING, CHEONG is very down. LING is there to encourage him. An officer from the Official Receiver’s Office shows up at JO’s office to look into MAY’s case, leading to her colleagues’ whispering about her. MAY’s landlord has sent someone to take away her television as a compensation for the belayed rent. MAY deliberately makes a scratch on the TV so that they will not take it away. SAM works as a taxi driver but luck is not with him. He is firstly robbed and secondly caught by the patrol. What is more, he has an argument with MAY when he gets home. He cannot stand it anymore and suggests a break off. SAM leaves home……

14. Episode 14

Aired: 5/22/2003

GIU sympathizes with SAM’s situation and promises to take care of him. JO pays the rent for MAY and offers her a pay rise too. LONG and CATELINE find it not right that JO is being so nice to MAY, and so they tell SAM all about it. SAM asks MAY out for a talk. He gives her two days to think about his suggestion of quitting her job. To give MAY more pressure, SAM packs up his stuff in order to convey a message that he is ready to leave anytime. CHEONG goes to a triad member for a debt but is beaten up. Though seriously injured, CHEONG is delighted to see LING care about him. LING lies to CHEONG that SAM is her boyfriend, hoping that he will give up. LONG moves in to live with SAM. He also works with CATELINE in forcing JO to leave MAY. LI holds PANG, who is rich, under duress, hoping to get back her son’s custody. LI is arrested at last. The case has been widely reported……

15. Episode 15

Aired: 5/23/2003

CHANG takes LING to see LI’s son, SHANG, at the school. They are told that SHANG went disappeared when they were having an outdoor painting lesson. CHANG finds SHANG at LI’s home in the end. He also notices that SHANG and LI actually get along very well. ZHANG instigates MAY to fight for the custody of her kids. JO did not pay for the rent for the last two months. A rumor starts to circulate that the company is on the line of closing down. MAY sticks up for JO. SAM has been issued a Security Personnel Permit and assigned to work at MAY’s office. MUN goes to JO’s office to get even with him. MUN flies into a fury and tears up a big business contract of JO. Provoked, JO pushes MUN away. SAM mistakes that JO is being disrespectful to MUN and so gives JO a punch. SAM is fired. LI’s case has been brought to trial. PANG has hired NELSON, who is a senior counsel, to represent him……

16. Episode 16

Aired: 5/26/2003

CHANG asks LING to dinner to celebrate. However, LING, who is not pleased, asks him to go home earlier for ANGEL’s company instead. He therefore hastens to explain to her his relationship with ANGEL. LING realizes that NELSON and CHANG are indeed father and son when she sees a photo of them. Their outlooks on life are so different that they do not get along. SAM takes MUN’s advice and talks to MAY about their problems. However, their conversation turns out to be a letdown. LING takes CHANG to visit GIU. MAY and JO go to Taiwan for a business trip. She asks FUN to take care of CATELINE. However, FUN only knows playing mahjong. CATELINE calls LONG for help and SAM goes to pick her up as soon as he can. YAN asks CHING to a BBQ. She, however, asks LEUNG to come along as well. When LEUNG sees there is not enough food, he suggests going to a hotel for a BBQ. YAN ends up spending much more than he expected……

17. Episode 17

Aired: 5/27/2003

SAM will not answer MAY’s calls. The next day, MAY goes to GIU’s home to find SAM, whom tells her that LONG and CATELINE have gone camping. MAY does not believe him. She calls the police, making SAM late for his job interview. MAY is unhappy to know that SAM is planning to fight for the children’s custody. JO comforts her. SAM helps RUBY, whom he met on a taxi, to deliver a computer to her client. SAM comes to RUBY’s rescue when he sees the client causing her troubles. RUBY is very impressed by SAM’s computer knowledge. She invites him to work for her; SAM agrees. ZHEN finds a photo of CHING and YAN. He grasps CHING to MUN’s home and points the finger at YAN. MAY is yelling at MUN’s home, too, demanding to take CATELINE home. CATELINE is unhappy because she can feel that JO has a crush on MAY. SAM has helped RUBY secure an important client of hers. RUBY treats SAM to a dinner, at which he sees MAY and JO having fun together.

18. Episode 18

Aired: 5/28/2003

SAM persuades RUBY into biding for the license of a particular computer brand. JO gives two hundred thousand worth of shares to MAY. He wants to declare his love to her but is disturbed. SAM is astonished to see MAY trading shares at a bank. LEUNG invites CHING, YAN and some other friends to go to Macau. YAN declines the invitation. Not knowing the real intention of YAN, CHING starts a quarrel with him. CHANG tells CHING it was actually YAN who got SAM out of debt. CHING forgives YAN and the two get back together. CHANG goes out a lot with friends and always leaves LING at home. JO helps MAY in renting a flat and finding a domestic helper. MAY is not sure about his intention and so talks to FUN. With SAM’s assistance, RUBY has won the license of the computer brand. MAY is even more worried when she learns that JO is planning to take her to Macau……

19. Episode 19

Aired: 5/29/2003

MAY not only turns down JO’s love but also resigns. She writes a letter of apology to SAM and asks LONG to pass on to SAM. However, LONG mistakes that it is a letter of divorce and so he tears it up without SAM’s consent. MAY is upset to see RUBY and SAM dating. CHANG is brokenhearted. With his colleagues’ encouragement, he determines to win back LING’s heart. LING pretends to be busy in order to irritate CHANG. CHNG will not give up. To show his sincerity, he makes a bottle of lucky stars for LING every day. LEUNG gives up a well-paid job and sets up a toy factory with friends. ZHEN examines both CHING’s bankbook and computer receipts. He reckons that YAN has cheated CHING of her money and is very angry. CHING passes out and is rushed to hospital. YAN goes to the hospital and meets ZHEN there. In order to sticking up for YAN, CHING lies that she is having YAN’s baby……

20. Episode 20

Aired: 5/30/2003

LING has been receiving CHANG’s lucky stars for nine consecutive days. She, nevertheless, still finds him not sincere enough. LING is put under duress by a thief who is trying to escape from the police station. CHANG risks his own life to save LING, which impresses her very much. A malignant tumor has been found near the breast of RUBY’s breast. She cracks up and refuses to receive any treatments. SAM comforts her and promises to stay with her. Knowing that MAY is sued by the Official Receiver’s Office, SAM tries all his might to help her. MAY is very pleased. However, when she sees how flurried SAM has turned after receiving RUBY’s call, she is worried. She is very disappointed that SAM does not show up at her trial. MAY is sentenced to jail. Three months later, everybody, including LONG, CATELINE and the others but SAM, goes to take MAY home. SAM does not show up at CHING’s wedding banquet, either……