Ethan arrived in Pine Valley to claim his rights as the Cambias heir. He had a letter from his mother and a birth certificate to back up his claims however, people were doubtful. Kendall Hart befriended Ethan and their two of a kind friendship eventually grew into love. While in Pine Valley, Ethan was looking for a link to his family. Zach Slater, who was Ethan's father, took an interest in him but Zach never told Ethan about their father-son connection. When Ethan finally found out, via DNA test done using his cousin Miranda's DNA, that Zach was his father, he was enraged. Ethan was never able to forgive Zach for denying him as a son, so a battle of wills ensued between the two that lasted until the day Ethan died. Eventually, Ethan took over the Cambias fortune which Zach never wanted and unfortunately, went slightly power crazy. However, the real reason behind the slight craziness, was that Ethan was using his money as leverage to make Zach take notice. Finally, Zach decided to take everything away from Ethan after Ethan lied that he saw his father kill Edmund Grey. After this deception, Kendall was very angry with Ethan for lying to her and she ended their relationship the same day he proposed to her. As a way to get back and hurt Ethan, Kendall accepted a ring from Zach.  Ethan proposed again to Kendall and offered to give up his fortune for her. Kendall then  informed Ethan she was already married to his father, which resulted in Ethan never forgiving Kendall for her actions. He then began dating Simone Torres and eventually fell in love with her. Ethan and Simone  planned to marry after he proposed to Simone on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Eve, Ethan and Simone both attended the Pine Valley Charity Masquerade Ball, but unfortunately a series of bizarre events resulted in the building exploding.  In the initial explosion, Ethan was unharmed, however, in an attempt to escape, Ethan became very badly injured.  After being rescued, Ethan was rushed to the hospital where he died during surgery. Simone mourned Ethan until she too, died later that same year.