Grace was introduced as Sharon Newman's best friend, who had moved from Madison, Wisconsin, to Genoa City with her boyfriend, Tony Viscardi. Upon learning that Sharon and her husband, Nick Newman's newborn baby, Noah, was going to die, Grace and Tony decided to find Sharon's first child, a daughter she had given up at birth, to ease Sharon's pain. They finally tracked down the 5-year-old girl, Cassie, and learned her adoptive mother, Alice Johnson, had left Cassie with her adoptive Grandmother, Millie. Realizing that she was barely able to take care of herself, let alone a young child, Millie eventually let Grace and Tony take Cassie back to Genoa City with them. Noah unexpectedly survived, and Grace decided to keep Cassie's identity a secret from Nick and Sharon. Tony reluctantly agreed to help her.