Serena arrives in Erinsborough with her parents David and Liljana, when they arrive to stay with her grandfather Harold (Ian Smith) and her cousin Sky Mangel (Stephanie McIntosh) at Number 24 Ramsay Street. Serena, expecting to stay no more than several weeks until the family's new home is built, is upset when she learns that they will have to remain living in Ramsay Street after David is ripped off by his business partner Thomas Morgan, leaving the family bankrupt. She is further displeased when she learns she will have to leave Eden Hills Grammar and attend Erinsborough High along with Sky, but this subsides when Serena becomes popular and tries to distance herself from her cousin.