Young medical intern Jeff Martin found himself bewitched by Erica Kane. Erica liked the idea of marrying a doctor. Jeff fell under Erica's spell and the two were married, but trouble soon surfaced. Jeff's salary did not allow for a glamorous lifestyle, and Erica wanted the best out of life. The two started to drift apart, and Jeff began spending more time with Nurse Mary Kennicott.

Erica began to work as a model and became the object of obsession for her agent, Jason Maxwell. Erica's career began to cause strains for Jeff, who turned to Mary for a shoulder to cry on. On the verge of making it as a model, Erica discovered she was pregnant with Jeff's baby. Not ready to care for a baby, Erica had an abortion without telling Jeff she was ever pregnant. When Jeff found out after the fact he was livid. Despite this, Jeff tried to make his marriage work.

Erica and Jeff's rocky marriage continued while Erica began spending more time with Jason Maxwell. Eventually Jeff got sick of arguing with Erica, and the two divorced. Erica, losing hold of Jason, started to use Jeff to incite Jason's jealousy, claiming that Jeff hated him for taking Erica away. Some time later Jason was found dead and Jeff was arrested for the murder. He was eventually cleared when Erica's mother was revealed as the culprit. Finally free, Jeff wed Mary. Their happiness was short lived, as she was later killed by burglars.

Jeff fell in love with Dr. Christina Karras, who was engaged to Dr. David Thornton. David was later killed, and Jeff helped Christina prove she was innocent of his death. The two married and moved out of town, but Christina's demanding ways eventually led to their divorce.

Jeff occasionally visited Pine Valley over the next ten years before getting involved with organizations that provided medical care to third world countries. He was shocked when his father called and revealed that the pregnancy that Erica terminated years earlier had not been terminated, but that the embryo had been stolen by Dr. Greg Madden, who raised Jeff's son Josh as his own. Wanting to meet his son, Jeff returned to town, unsure whether he should disrupt his son's life and reveal his true identity.