Unshackled! (Drama)

3201 Jeanette Towne Pt. 1: (abuse, fear) Jeanette's hard work in nursing school is undermined by missing class to work as a waitress. She's dismissed from school and goes to work at an upscale restaurant where she meets a suave but unsavory man, Nick, who has a toddler daughter. They marry and she discovers his abusive nature, leaves once but he lures her back. After that she is too ashamed and frightened to leave. The first part ends as she prays to God for rescue.

3199 David Spurgeon: (motorcycle gangs, drugs, crime) David grows up in Ohio with a family that goes to church, but he rebels to be cool. He joins the army and becomes a paratrooper but learns to use drugs and is arrested in Italy for possession. After his honorable discharge, he buys a motorcycle, joins a motorcycle gang and descends into 15 years of wild behavior. A police raid catches him with cocaine and illegal weapons. In jail he hears the gospel and is saved. Now an evangelist.

3197 Mem Luton - Part 1: (Thai, Buddhism, bitterness) The youngest of seven siblings and the only one to not receive a Monk's blessing, Mem battles family pride, Bangkok's street life and fear. Her older sister is saved and shares the gospel with the family. An American missionary, Bryan, comes to Thailand and Mem learns to love him, but he leaves. The first part ends as she narrowly escapes her own foolishness with a young Thai man.

3195 "Firuz" (Iranian, Muslim, paralysis) Firuz is born into a devout Muslim family in Iran. He falls in love with Jasmina when he's only 10, tutors her when he's 18 and they marry. On a trip to Mecca an Imam tells him to divorce his wife, so Firuz walks away from Islam. When he has an auto accident that leaves him partially paralyzed, everyone blames his refusal to go to mosque. After 14 years and several surgeries, he ends up in the U.S. where he hears the truth, is saved and ultimately...

3193"Cynthia" - Part 1: (drugs, selfishness, rock music) Cynthia takes control of her life after her parents divorce. Self-centered yet insecure, she's driven to be a rock singer, quits school in her senior year and goes on the road with a rock band that abandons her when she tries to quit. Back home she forms her own band, gets a manger and becomes a hit, attracting record companies and a drummer who marries her. The first part ends as her now-saved brother shares the Gospel and she prays...

3191 Holly Hammons Part 1 (religion, fear of death) Raised in a loving home, Connie hates school and does poorly, especially after the family moves from Long Island to Queens, where she hangs out on the streets. After her dad's heart attack and her grandfather's sudden death, she and her mother sense a growing darkness in the family. Old friends visit, bringing sweet rolls and even sweeter words. The first part ends with Connie's mother professing faith and Connie coming to Christ.

3189 James Wilson Part 1 (self-righteousness, Naval Academy, Korean War) Jim survives three major childhood diseases, putting him behind in school, but he's a fighter. He works at the stockyards in Omaha to support the family after his father's heart attack. He graduates, joins the Navy and then is appointed to the Naval Academy where he struggles with self-righteousness during his Plebe year. The first part ends as he is saved during his "youngster year."

3187 Henry Christian: (alcohol, selfishness, military) Henry is an alcoholic by age 15, gets in trouble with the law and joins the army; receives an honorable discharge, still a drunk. Injured at work, he needs back surgery and with the settlement money, he buys a home. Still a drunk, he marries a woman who is unfaithful and leaves him, taking their 4 children. Desolate, Henry plans suicide but God intervenes. Henry goes on to get a PhD and serves the Lord in rescue work and as an evangelist...

3185 Ron Wheeler - Part 1: (cartoonist, pride, drugs) Ron's cartooning skill is manifest as a child and he becomes full of pride and arrogance. He resists drinking and drugs in high school--even college at first. But success with a comic strip inflates his self-worth. He succumbs to drinking, then drugs, still hankering for a career as a cartoonist. The first part ends when he graduates and goes to work in the corporate world where he fails.

3183 Ron Unger: (drugs, crime, infidelity) The middle of seven children, Ron has an alcoholic dad and an overworked mother. Feeling neglected, he resorts to troublesome friends, drugs and crime. He joins the Navy to avoid jail, goes AWOL, then takes his punishment. He marries but his wife is unfaithful and he divorces her. Then he meets Bonnie. When she, too, is unfaithful, he gives his life to the One who is Faithful and True.

3181 Lane Turner Pt. 1 (alcohol, self-deprecation) School peers belittle Lane for attending church and also for his sports abilities, even though he runs fast. Doubt plagues him, but he masks his fears with self-deprecating humor. He turns his back on the church, drinks a lot and takes risks to prove himself to others. But his life is empty and he remains unmarried at age 45. When the first part ends he has returned to church and given his life to Christ.

3179 Warren & Jennie Winters Classic Pt 1 (China Missionaries, WWII) Warren is suicidal until he is saved on New Year's Eve. He goes to Bible college, meets and marries Jennie and they go to China as missionaries to riverboat people. They start a ministry to lepers, and Jennie rescues female babies left by the roadside. The Imperial Japanese Army invades China, and they are told to leave the country in 1939. The first part ends as Warren decides to return to China in 1940.

3177 James Byron - Part 1: (spina bifida, ridicule, forgiveness) Born with his feet turned inward, Jims spina bifida is life-threatening but his parents resolve to give him a good life. Jim faces ridicule and bullies at school, falling behind because of hospitalization. He repeats the first grade three times but keeps a sense of humor. The plucky boy has surgery to realign his feet, changing his future. Part one ends as Jim leaves home to be independent.

3175 Rebecca Terry - Part 1: (missionary kid, religion) Having grown up a missionary kid in China, Becky tries to be good. At 17 she catches a glimpse of hell during a ship fire on the Pacific Ocean. A college student tells Becky she needs to be born again but pride deflects the warning. She marries Lucas and they have six children, five of whom are saved as teenagers and also challenge Becky to read the Bible and seek salvation. The first part ends when Becky is saved but facing an...

3173 Gordon Young Australian punk rocker, drugs, schizophrenia) Gordon's bizarre behavior causes peers to mock him. He quits school, slips into drugs and crime and discovers punk music in jail. His parents pray for him, but he is often jailed or committed to psychiatric wards. Finally diagnosed with schizophrenia and given meds, he struggles until he finally surrenders to Christ.