Blair Cramer flew to Paris, France, in January 2011, to track down the origin of a 2003 portrait of her that had been left behind by her dead husband, Elijah Clarke. The vendor who had sold the painting to Eli a year earlier told Blair where to find the artist and Blair went to his apartment. Tomas, a reclusive American artist, couldn't believe he was staring at the woman who was the source of the portrait. Tomas explained that he had used a picture he had found in a Paris flea market as inspiration for the portrait and showed the photo to Blair, who was stunned that the picture was from her second wedding to Todd Manning. Blair explained that it was a time when she was very happy, and said that maybe she was on a journey to find that happiness again. Blair wanted to find out how the picture had ended up in Paris, but Tomas said the man who sold him the photo had died several years earlier. Blair kept the photo but told Tomas to keep the portrait since he painted it. After Blair had returned to Llanview, the vendor visited Tomas and encouraged him to go on his own journey, giving him Blair's address.

Tomas surprised Blair by showing up at her door in Llanview. Blair questioned why he was there, and after some lame excuses he admitted he wanted to see her again. While it was obvious that Blair was happy to see Tomas and had been thinking about him, she let him know that she was being cautious because of the trouble she had gotten into for trusting other men in the past. Blair suggested Tomas rent a room at the Angel Square Hotel, which he did. Tomas showed up at Capricorn and surprised Blair by offering to play the piano for her after her normal pianist cancelled at the last minute. He later admitted he had gone to school at Juilliard. Blair ran into Tomas at the Buenos Dias Café and he informed her that he was returning to Paris that day. During their discussion, Tomas mentioned that he spoke five languages and originally hailed from Puerto Rico. Blair mentioned how she knew many friends in town who came from Puerto Rico, including the Vega family and Téa. Tomas tensed up at the mention of Téa's name, and Blair explained that Téa was married to her ex-husband, Todd. Tomas quickly said his goodbyes and headed off, leaving behind a pencil sketch of Blair's face.

Tomas showed up at Téa's door and she greeted him with a slap across the face. Téa chided him for having walked away but Tomas reminded her that he was still her brother. Téa reminded Tomas how hard their father had worked to send Tomas to art and music classes and how Tomas had repaid their father by walking out of their lives and not even showing up at their father's funeral. Tomas said he hadn't heard about their father's death until it was too late and reminded Téa that he did call on special occasions, but she said it hadn't been enough and questioned how he could stay gone for over half of their lives. Despite a tense reunion, Téa allowed Tomas to stay and they reminisced about their childhoods. When Todd found Téa and Tomas together, he jumped to the conclusion that she was cheating on him and Téa had to calm him down. Tomas was shocked at Todd's outburst and told Téa he didn't want her to stay with him, but Téa told Tomas that she was a grown woman and could make her own choices. Tomas said he knew more about her husband than she realized, and then explained his connection to Blair. Tomas told Blair he was staying around because he was worried about Todd's influence over Téa and Danielle. He asked Blair out on a date but Blair politely declined, explaining that she was just not ready to date anyone after the year she had gone through.

Tomas spoke in French to someone on the phone, saying he needed help with Todd Manning and that it was urgent because Todd had married his sister. Soon after, Todd was shot in the abdomen during a heavy round of sniper gunfire outside Rodi's. Tomas returned to the Manning home and met his niece, Danielle. Téa learned that Todd had been shot and went to the hospital with Dani, while Tomas stayed behind. As he nursed a gunshot wound on his side, he told someone on the phone that what had just happened had been a disaster.

Tomas tried to sneak into Todd's room but was blocked by Shaun Evans, who was standing guard outside the room. Tomas used martial arts moves to bring Shaun to the ground, and later explained to his surprised sister and niece that he had trained in a gym around the corner from Julliard. John McBain began to suspect that Tomas could be behind Todd's shooting after Natalie found a Euro coin outside the room where the sniper had been and John learned that Tomas and Todd had argued just before the shooting. Blair questioned Tomas and he denied having anything to do with the shooting. Téa found an envelope under Tomas' bed with photos and news clippings of pre-surgery Todd. When she questioned Tomas about it, he said he had researched Todd and found it strange how he came back to town with a different face. Tomas entered Todd's room with a syringe but dropped it when Dani and Nate entered the room. When Todd awoke from his coma, he named Tomas as his shooter, saying he remembered seeing him in the window of the room where the sniper was. When the police found Tomas' fingerprints on the syringe, Tomas was arrested.

John questioned why the CIA had an encrypted CIA file on Tomas, but Tomas claimed not to know. Todd paid Tomas a visit and demanded to know why Tomas had shot him, but Tomas stopped Todd in his tracks by threatening to reveal certain things about Todd's life that he wouldn't want made public. Todd quickly recanted his accusation that Tomas had shot him. Tomas told Todd that Téa would get a disc containing evidence about Todd's secret activities if anything happened to him, and he gave Todd a copy of the disc. Later, Todd told Tomas that Marty Saybrooke had overheard them talking and had taken the disc. Todd told Tomas to keep an eye on Marty, who was hiding out in Todd's pool house with Natalie's baby, Liam. After Tomas learned that Marty had been married to Patrick Thornhart, he told Todd that Patrick was actually alive and he arranged to have Patrick released from an undisclosed location so he could be reunited with Marty.

Blair was suspicious about Tomas' activities and followed him to New York, where she discovered that Tomas was married to a woman named Yvette Moreau. Tomas explained that he had been asking Yvette for a divorce for years but that she refused to give him one. Tomas said Yvette had even fathered a child by another man while they were married. But Yvette stunned Tomas by revealing that the child was actually his. Tomas had a tense reunion with his son, a teenager named Sebastian who preferred to go by "Baz." Yvette granted Tomas a divorce and encouraged Baz to move to Llanview to get to know his father.

Tomas became suspicious when he learned that Sam Manning claimed to have a friend who looked exactly like his father before plastic surgery. Téa pressured Tomas for answers, and Tomas revealed that he had been a CIA agent but had quit when he got involved with the wrong people. Tomas told Téa that Todd had gotten involved with something dangerous but refused to say more. He admitted that he was in the building when Todd got shot but claimed that he had tried to stop the shooter and gotten grazed by a bullet in the process. Tomas said he didn't know who the shooter was, and Todd claimed not to know who was after him. Tomas discovered that his former boss, Agent Malcom Baker, was in town and he called John McBain. Tomas told John that he had worked for Baker at the CIA and that Todd had also worked for Baker. Tomas said Baker had been behind Todd's shooting and was in town to finish the job. John urged Tomas to come clean about what Baker wanted and why he was a threat to Todd and his family.

During a movie premiere, Tomas told the entire Manning family that Todd was an imposter. Just then, a man with Todd's original face appeared and claimed to be the real Todd Manning. Blair demanded answers, and Tomas revealed that he was a former CIA agent who had been sent to Llanview eight years ago by Baker to kill Todd. Tomas said he had been presented with phony evidence implicating Todd in terrorist activities. Tomas said he found Todd bound and gagged in Victor Lord's crypt, where he had been left by Mitch Laurence, and he delivered Todd to Baker. Todd had a photo of his wedding to Blair in his possession and Tomas kept the photo, later fixating on it to the point that he began painting image after image of Blair on her wedding day. Tomas told Blair he had no idea which man was the real Todd and that he had tried to get a blood sample from Todd after he was shot to test the DNA, but he was stopped before he could draw the blood. John stunned everyone by revealing that both men were a match for Todd.

John tracked Agent Baker to a secret facility in Louisiana and conducted a raid on the facility with help from Tomas and police officer Brody Lovett. There they discovered the mastermind of the rogue CIA operation, who turned out to be Todd's believed-dead mother Irene Manning. They brought Irene back to Llanview, where she revealed that the man who had recently returned to town was in fact Todd, while the other man was Todd's twin brother Victor Jr. Irene had been holding Todd captive for years and had brainwashed her other son into thinking he was actually Todd. Soon thereafter, Victor Jr. was found shot and pronounced dead, and Todd was arrested for the crime. Todd escaped from jail and shot and killed Irene during an encounter on the docks. Tomas confessed to the crime so Todd could escape, but Téa knew he was covering for Todd. Tomas was sentenced to 20 years in prison but the conviction was overturned when Todd confessed. Tomas told Blair he loved her and wanted to be with her. Blair allowed him into her bed and they shared a passionate night together.

When the police investigation into Victor's murder hit a dead end, Tomas told his sister that he would find out who killed Victor. Tomas was overjoyed when Téa shared the news that she was pregnant with Victor's child. Tomas received a call from his former colleague, Claude, and arrived to find Todd instead. Todd told Tomas that he was going to frame Tomas for Victor's murder, and Tomas realized that Todd had killed his own brother after all. Baker showed up and took Tomas to an undisclosed location. Tomas was forced to confess to Victor's murder during a live phone call with Blair. Téa worked with John McBain to clear Tomas and the two came to believe that Todd was in fact the guilty party. After Tomas' false confession, Téa and John tricked Tomas' friend Claude into revealing that Tomas was being held against his will. John stole Todd's phone and planted a bug that led him to Tomas. As Tomas and Téa reunited, John promptly arrested Todd for the murder of his brother - unaware that Victor Jr. was very much alive and being held captive by Allison Perkins.