Francis "Frank" Atwood initially appears as a business associate of Gordon Bullit, calling himself Frank Perry. He starts working at Kirsten's and Julie's matchmaking agency NewMatch. Frank had met Bullit in jail and Bullit offered him a position in his business. Later, Frank reveals to Julie that he had an ulterior motive for choosing Newport and that he was Ryan's biological father. Meanwhile, Sandy discovers that Frank was in prison for armed robbery. He wants to reunite with Ryan, but Ryan tells Sandy to pass on the message that he does not want to see him. According to Kirsten, Frank was an abusive alcoholic, as shown by Ryan visibly tensing up when hearing about Frank wanting to reunite with him. Frank tells Kirsten that he was dying of cancer and Kirsten invites him over to their home for dinner. However, Sandy, whose experience as a public defender led him to be suspicious of Frank's story, finds out from a physician friend in the prison system that Frank was lying and punches him, sparking a fight, which Ryan quickly breaks up. Ryan asks Frank to leave, saying that he wasn't ready to accept him into his life. In subsequent episodes, Ryan and Frank make amends and appear to be on speaking terms but Ryan has made it clear that even though he addresses Frank as "dad", he considers Sandy to be his father figure. Despite his past Frank is generally portrayed as a protagonist who's trying to get his life together.