In 1980, after escaping a prostitution ring, teenager Nikki Reed turned to the New World Brotherhood, a cult which was headquartered in Genoa City, Wisconsin. Nikki's long time best friend and lover, Paul Williams, was surprised to discover her selling flowers in the street. Soon after, Paul, who felt responsible for his mother's miscarriage, also joined the cult because he thought that it would provide him with serenity. Eventually, both realized that the cult was a farce, but they were being held against their will by cult leader Ian Ward and his second in command, a woman named Sumiko. Reporter, Peggy Brooks joined forces with Paul's brother Steve Williams and infiltrated the cult to write an expose about it, which nearly cost Peggy her life. They were later rescued by Paul's father Detective Carl Williams, the commune burned down, and Ian was sent to prison for his crimes.

Thirty years later, Nikki Reed was married to billionaire conglomerate owner, Victor Newman, and they were parents of two grown children, Nicholas and Victoria. Nikki and Paul were still close friends and confidants despite their many marriages to other people, and had almost married each other later in life. Paul was a detective, and more recently became the Genoa City chief of police.

In 2013, Nikki was devastated by the news of the death of her best friend, Katherine Chancellor, as Katherine was more like a mother than a friend to her, and had been the guiding force to her sobriety after several years as an alcoholic and living with her recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Knowing she was dying, Katherine left Nikki a letter urging her to finally tell Victor about the secret she had been carrying all these years, and to go on a quest to resolve it.

Instead, Nikki told Paul. Reminding Paul of the cult they had joined in 1980, and Ian Ward, the man who ran the cult from afar, Nikki disclosed how Ian had used her for sex during his many visits to the commune, hoping to conceive an heir. Nikki had gotten pregnant, then realized that she was just one of his many girls. After they were freed, Nikki had left town. Her baby had been born prematurely in a Winnetka, Illinois convent, and the nuns had taken it away before she woke up. Nikki explained that she had finally shared her secret with Katherine after her MS diagnosis, and Katherine had urged her to find her child to let them know they might inherit the disease.

Nikki remembered only that the convent was Our Lady of...something. Paul and Nikki went to Winnetka, and tracked it down to Our Lady of Hope. Looking in their files, Paul eventually discovered the child was Dylan McAvoy, a serviceman whom they knew, who had recently returned from Afghanistan, and was living in Genoa City. Nikki agonized over telling Dylan that she was his mother and disrupting his life, but she eventually told him and her own family.

When Dylan asked, Nikki told him that his father, Ian, was a bad man, that she did not know what had happened to him, and did not want to know. Dylan requested a DNA test, and it proved that he was Nikki's son. Later, Nikki objected to Dylan wanting to find his father, but he took off for northern Idaho after Nikki recalled his family had a farm there.

After Dylan returned to Genoa City he did some Internet searches, and he and his girlfriend Avery decided to go to Indiana to find Ian together. Dylan and Avery visited an organization called The Path, led by a John Darwin. Darwin's associate, Clarence, saw through their story of a married couple hoping to become followers, and they admitted they were looking for Ian Ward and that Dylan was his son. Clarence asked them leave and phoned Ian with their names and that they lived in Genoa City. Dylan then decided he really did not want to find Ian, that Avery was all the family he needed, and they returned to Genoa City.

It was not long before Ian showed up in Nikki's living room, having used his charisma to get past the guards. He shocked her, but she stood her ground, letting him know that she was not the young innocent she had once been. He claimed that the making of Dylan was a beautiful memory, and she slapped him and sent him away. Nikki warned Dylan, so he and Avery were ready for him when Ian stopped at Crimson Lights to meet Dylan. They told Ian they no longer wanted anything to do with him, but Ian said he was sticking around awhile.

Nikki received a photo from Ian of him with his arm around her granddaughter Summer with a text to bring him five million dollars to leave town. Nikki arrived with a bag of money and sent Summer home, telling her that he was a criminal named Ian who preys on young girls. Nick and Dylan arrived, and Nick socked Ian in the eye. Paul arrived and after Ian admitted the money was his, Paul arrested him for extortion. Ian's lawyer, Leslie Michaelson, tried to get the charges dropped, but thanks to Nikki's recording her conversation with Ian, the charges stuck. Ian offered to let Paul and Nikki in on a secret for his release, and shocked Leslie when he confidentially shared it with her. Ian's trial ended in a mistrial when Leslie discovered that the son of a juror was a New World Cult member, and Ian had been set free.

Nikki and Dylan discussed her past and her state of mind when she gave him up, and both agreed that she had done the right thing. Dylan and Avery were visited by Ian's ex-wife, Willa Ward, who had come from Idaho to give them some important information for a price, but they sent her away empty-handed.

All were appalled when Ian showed up in town, having been released due to a mistrial. Ian continued to harass Dylan, dropping into the coffee house until Dylan threw him out and refused him service. Ian made sure to tell everyone within hearing that Dylan had anger issues and that Ian feared him. Ian gloated to Nikki that the extortion charges had been dismissed as circumstantial, but he was willing to forgive her for trying to send him to prison. Victor closed all of Nikki's accounts to protect her funds from Ian, and promised Ian that he would leave Nikki alone or live to regret it. That night Victor met Ian in an alley with some thugs to convince him to leave town. Paul found Ian badly beaten, Ian told Paul that Dylan had done it, and Dylan was taken in for questioning. Ian interrupted, telling Paul that it had not been Dylan, that he had been mugged.

Dylan brought Nikki the news that Paul Williams had been shot and was not expected to live. A second surgery determined that only a liver transplant could save Paul's life, and his rare blood type AB- made it difficult to find a donor. When Dr. Rayburn discussed the dilemma with Nikki, Avery, and Dylan, Dylan piped up that he too was AB-. Nikki was elated to think that her son Dylan could save her long time best friend Paul's life.

Avery told Leslie that Dylan and Paul Williams shared the same rare blood type, and that Dylan might be able to donate part of his liver to save Paul's life. Realizing that her former client, Ian, had overheard, Leslie muttered to Ian, "He's going to figure it out, you know." Ian replied with a devilish grin, "Then the fun will begin." It wasn't long before Victor confronted Ian with the fact that he knew Ian was sterile and therefore not Dylan's father. Victor returned Ian's evil grin with, "Watch your back!" But Ian continued to claim to be Dylan's father, and blamed Nikki for everything that was happening to Dylan and Paul. Ian found out that Leslie had breached her confidentiality with his secret, and told her that he had notified the bar association. But later, he offered a deal to Leslie that he would not tell if she agreed to sue Nikki for emotional distress on his behalf.

Ian visited Dylan after his surgery, telling him that he was still in the will and felt like he was his son. That they were both victims of Nikki's lies. Dylan became enraged, and Nikki arrived and kicked Ian out.

Michael Baldwin represented Nikki at the pre-trial meeting with Ian Ward, and they were shocked to see David Sherman, the son of Mitchell Sherman who was the trusted attorney of Katherine Chancellor, as Ian's new attorney. Ian calmly stated that he had been misled, that Dylan had come to him with dates and facts, so he assumed he had been the only one who could possibly be Dylan's father. But he now knew that Nikki was not the person he thought, that she had been deceiving him by sleeping with Paul, then she went on to become a stripper, and did drugs and alcohol. Nikki began screaming at Ian to shut up. Ian refused to settle out of court, wanting a public and painful trial.

Ian continually tried to rattle Victor. But in Victor, Ian had certainly met his match. Victor threatened Ian that he knew his weaknesses, and Victor would win.

The trial began with Nikki reading passages from the diary in her defense, telling how she thought Ian was a monster, and she did not want to raise his baby, afraid it would turn out like him. Ian's attorney claimed that Nikki had not told Paul about the baby because Paul was irresponsible, so claimed the baby was Ian's to justify getting rid of it. Michael pointed out that if that were true, Nikki could have gotten an abortion a lot easier, and maintained that Nikki was the one who endured pain and suffering at the hands of Ian ever since, and especially now. Dylan got upset and interrupted the proceedings, defending Nikki. The judge determined that Ian had acted unethically and ruled against him with prejudice so that it could not be retried. Victor threatened Ian to never make the mistake of coming after his family again. Ian chuckled to his attorney that he had one weapon left, and they would never see it coming.

Ian showed Nikki a story in the National Inquisitor "Nikki Newman's Secret Sex Cult Diary", which told of her sexploits with Cult Leader Ian Ward and Chief of Police Paul Williams. She accused him of leaking court documents, but Ian claimed he was innocent. Then Ian taunted and enraged Dylan by suggesting that Paul had given them the story. Afterward, Ian celebrated with his lawyer.

Mariah reported to Ian that she had heard from her mother, and Ian reacted with dread. Noticing Mariah's apparent attraction to Nick, Ian warned her that she had a good thing going there, and not to screw it up.

Nick tracked down Helen Copeland, and she showed up at his bar. Nick lectured her on child abandonment, to which Helen responded that she did not want Mariah, it had been all Ian's idea. Afterward Helen met Ian in the park. Nick watched, listening, as Ian told Helen not to interfere in Mariah's life. Helen told him that Nick had a lot of questions about Mariah and the two of them, but that Nick had "no idea who Mariah really is."

Mariah came to Ian after getting kicked out of the Newman's, and Ian convinced her to run away together. Stopping by his storage unit on the way, he gave Mariah a glass of wine that had been drugged. Meanwhile Nick was telling Sharon that he had discovered that Sharon had unknowingly had twins, and that Mariah was actually her daughter, but that Mariah had been sold by the doctor to Ian Ward who had raised her. While Mariah slept, Ian called Sharon demanding a ransom in millions equal to Mariah's age. Mariah woke up confused and wearing a wedding gown. Ian told Mariah that their Paths were to marry, and Mariah realized he was a crazy as everyone had told her. But after giving her a drugged glass of water, Ian forced Mariah to sign the paperwork and marry him, which his old cohort Clarence officiated. Ian left them alone together while he went to pick up the ransom.

While the drop was being made, Ian showed up at Nikki's, taunting her about their destiny to be together. But Dylan arrived finding a hysterical Nikki, and Ian fled, with Dylan on his heels. The police began searching for Ian for the kidnapping of Mariah. Blood found on the Newman driveway turned out to be Ian's, and his wallet was found in a dumpster near the racetrack where his car was found. His muddy jacket and keys were later found at the quarry, and the police began searching the quarry. Although they found no body, Dylan was arrested for Ian's murder.

Ian saw an ad from Nikki, and called her from a burner phone so it could not be traced. They arranged to meet in a room at the athletic club. Ian entered the club through a trapdoor in the basement, expecting to avoid the police. But Paul was in the room with a gun when Ian showed up, and the police and Dylan surrounded him from the hallway. Ian smirked that he had come back for Nicole and would be back again. Nikki told him off, saying that he was sick. Dylan held his temper, as Ian was arrested for the drugging and abduction of Mariah.

Just short of a year afterward, a sudden storm and power blackout occurred, and all cell phones got nothing but an electromagnetic signal on their screens. In a surprising turn of events, viewers saw Gabriel Bingham in Victor's office, the only place with power, talking to a techie who was controlling Victor's laptop, and downloading the Paragon Project digital worm. In the background was Ian Ward who referred to Gabriel as his partner. Adam had gotten Ian out of prison by paying another prisoner to take his place after Ian was hospitalized. Later, Chelsea overheard Adam arguing on his phone, and assuming it was Jack, Chelsea grabbed the phone and said to stop involving Adam in his vendetta against Victor. Adam was livid, as the caller had been Ian Ward, who knew him only as Gabriel Bingham. Ian later accused Adam of double-dealing, but Adam assured him nothing had changed, and he was not siding with Jack or Victor.

Ian later met Phyllis Abbott in the woods, and spouted some of his charismatic dogma, telling her his name was Fred. (Phyllis had been in a coma during the year of Ian's rampage in Genoa City, so she did not know who he was.) Ian was living in an RV in the woods where Phyllis visited him, and she invited him to dinner at the cabin where he made her trout almandine one evening. "Fred" told her that he was writing a novel based upon his late wife.

Abby renamed Chelsea by Jabot to Chelsea 2.0, and got very cocky when the yet non-existent clothing line began showing huge European online pre-sales thanks to the Paragon project worm causing false sales spikes. Adam asked Ian to leave Chelsea and her line out of the destruction of Newman, he agreed, and the Newman quarterly reports showed that Chelsea 2.0 had dropped back to the level prior to the spike. Adam also confronted Ian about seeing Phyllis leaving his RV. Ian said he enjoyed her company, and if she ever found who he was Ian would just make her disappear. Ian met Phyllis again and she inferred to Ian that he might be behind the computer virus, so he made excuses and a hasty exit. Adam and Ian argued, and Ian knocked Adam out.

Phyllis told Victor that Ian was actually behind the virus. But when Victor visited the prison to see for himself, Ian was there and disavowed ever meeting Phyllis. Ian later escaped and was arrested in Genoa City, but not before telling Phyllis that Gabriel Bingham was really Adam Newman. Ian was returned to prison.

Ian turned up months later dressed as the devil at the annual Delia costume benefit at the Top of the Tower. A fire broke out on the floors just below them. Adam ran into "the devil", who knocked Adam out and left him for dead. While the benefit guests were on the roof being evacuated by helicopter, Victor and Billy went down after Jack but found Adam. They helped Adam get to the roof. As the three were about to board the helicopter, Adam saw "the devil" still inside. Adam stayed and confronted him for leaving him to die, and discovered it was Ian, who admitted to starting the fire for revenge on Victor. Ian taunted Adam that he was about to become a murderer again by killing Ian, they fought, and Ian was pinned under falling rubble. Adam left him for dead, declaring it was not murder, but justice. But later, Patty Williams found Ian and rescued him. Both were declared dead in the fire, but no bodies were ever found.

Ian and Patty were holed up at the Genoa City Motor Arms. They were obviously very smitten with each other. Ian gave Patty a Swiss bank account, a ticket to Paris, and a fake passport in the name Jean Lodge to start a new life and to thank her for saving his life. Ian told her that revenge was not the life for her, but Patty said she wanted to stay.

Ian contacted Phyllis to meet him in his room at the Genoa City Motor Arms. She did, accompanied by Victor. Ian praised Adam, calling him the smartest of Victor's children. Victor told Ian to cut the crap and stop Paragon now! Grabbing Phyllis around the neck, Victor threatened to kill "Ian's girlfriend" if he didn't. Ian showed them to his server room, telling Victor there was no way to stop the virus. Victor smashed up everything in the server room, and Ian was arrested by federal agents as he tried to escape and was sent back to Walworth state prison.

Several months later, Victor Newman was sentenced to 10 years in Walworth for having Jack Abbott kidnapped and replacing him with a lookalike for months. Victor was approached by an inmate selling protection, and after being warned by Ian, Victor was attacked and knifed in his sleep. Upon Victor's return from the hospital, Ian told him that he was not the one out to get Victor, and offered to help him find out who was.

Ian and Victor conspired to use Victor's prison psychologist, Dr. Meredith Gates, to get Victor out of prison. After hearing the plan, Victor called Ian a smart SOB. Ian punched Victor in his wound and yelled for help. At the infirmary, Meredith said how much Victor reminded her of her father – a son of a bitch, and master of the universe. Her father, Russell "Gateway" Gates was head of the pardon review board.

Adam came to Ian, enlisting his help in proving that Victor had framed Adam for the murder of Constance Bingham. Ian agreed to help but the price would be steep, Adam would have to help him escape prison. Victor found out, and threatened Ian. As more manufactured evidence arose, Chelsea presented Ian with an escape plan and begged him to comply.

Outside Adam's trial, Ian managed to get a guard's gun and took Nikki hostage. Victor walked out and in stopping another guard from firing on them, took a bullet in the shoulder fired by Ian. Ian took Nikki to the Abbott cabin where they interrupted Phyllis. He forced Phyllis to tie her up, and he tied up Phyllis. Ian made Nikki call Victor to transfer 5 million dollars to his offshore account. While Ian was quieting Phyllis, Nikki told Victor where they were. Victor showed up and convinced Ian to let the women go. Alone together, Ian and Victor traded threats. Then after Victor intentionally entered an incorrect password triggering a security alert on his account, Ian suddenly handed Victor the gun and began taunting him about Nikki, encouraging Victor to shoot him. But Victor refused, saying that Ian was his ticket out of prison. Paul and Dylan arrived and captured Ian and Victor.