When the mysterious Bill Morey returned to Springfield, and was revealed to be the once presumed dead Bill Bauer, in 1977, the Bauers and the rest of Springfield would come to learn about the equally mysterious Simone Kincaid.

Many years earlier, Bill had spent several months working on a public relations project in Switzerland. There he met a soft-spoken, attractive young woman named Simone and instantly fell in love. It was during this Alpine assignment that Bill and Simone conceived Hillary. Once his work was completed, Bill returned to his wife, Bert, in Springfield, but he and Simone never forgot one another. Simone moved to Vancouver, and on the rebound married an abusive lout named Victor Kincaid and had a child together who they would name Paul.Together Victor and Simone raised Hillary and led her to believe that Victor was her biological father. Some years later, Bill located Simone while on business trip in Canada and they resumed their affair. In short, Bill was leading a double life, and he resigned himself to the idea that Simone would never be truly his -- until one fateful plane trip to Alaska. Bill had changed planes in Seattle, while on one of his drinking binges, and when the plane stopped in Vancouver to refuel on the second leg of the flight, Bill went to call Simone. The plane left without him and crashed! Learning that he was presumed dead, Bill felt so guilty about not contacting his family that he went on a bender and nearly perished of frostbite in a deserted cabin.

Bill was rescued by Simone, who, after his phone call, had managed to track him down. Unfortunately, Simone was still married to the crafty Kincaid, but Bill stayed on in Vancouver to be close to her. In time, Kincaid discovered Bill and Simone's affair and threatened to reveal that Bill was alive. Bill, in turn, was livid because Victor was being physically abusive to Simone, Paul and Hillary. One day, Bill and Victor got into a violent fight that resulted in Victor's death. Although a cloud of suspicion hung over Bill, he went ahead and set up house with Simone, Hillary and Paul. Simone knew Bill's true identity and understood that he could not legally marry her under the circumstances, but she and Bill led the children to believe they had gotten married anyway. Bill also changed his last name to Morey. Together they owned and operated a mill that brought them a modest, but steady, income.

In 1977, Bill revealed himself to all of Springfield and his son, attorney Mike Bauer, got him exonerated for killing Victor. After Bert divorced him, Bill and Simone moved to Chicago. Soon after, Hillary learned that Simone left Bill and returned to her native Switzerland.

In 1984, Hillary was tragically killed in an explosion; both Simone and her son, Paul, though were unable to attend the funeral.