When Cam Stewart appeared in Springfield in 1986, he was very popular high school student whom everyone wanted to be friends with. At this time, Dinah Marler began school but she wasn't very popular since the other girls made fun of her because she had been raised up in a carnival. However, Cam liked Dinah and soon they got involved. Their romance was pretty innocent though; they didn't even sleep together. In 1987 Lacey Bauer arrived in Springfield and she and Cam had a one-night stand. When Dinah found out that he'd cheated on her, she got involved with Alan-Michael Spaulding, who was also new in town. When Lacey left town, Cam fell in love with Dinah again. However since he and Alan-Michael were now friends, he left her alone. Soon he met Harley Cooper and the two began dating while Harley and Dinah became great friends.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Cameron's father was involved with drugs. George was always convincing Cam that he was clean and, like a fool, Cam believed him. George wasn't just on drugs but he was also smuggling them into the States with his partner Nicky Sutton and an unsuspecting Frank Cooper. In 1988 Dinah suspected George of drug dealing but Cam didn't believe her. One night, George hit Cam during an argument, so Cam finally left. At the same time, Dinah went to Cameron's looking for him and ended up face to face with a drunken. When George kissed Dinah she ran out of the house, telling no one but Harley what happened. Later, Cam again felt sorry for his dad and he moved back in again. At this time, Harley was lying to Cam about being a virgin since she was afraid he'd leave her if he knew she'd had a baby that she put up for adoption. Eventually, Cam found out that Harley had lied and did leave her. At the same time, Dinah broke up with Alan-Michael and she and Cam began growing close again.When Dinah was alone in the Stewart house with George, Dinah tried to get George to leave Cam alone. Angry, George nearly acted on his sexual obsession with the underage Dinah and nearly raped her. Fortunately Cam was visiting Ross, and when he realized that Dinah was at his house. Cam and Ross raced over to the Stewart house and got George to stop before Dinah was raped.

Later, Cam asked Ross to find out a way to have George busted for drug possession. Springfield P.D. Lt. Larry Wyatt tried to get Cam and Dinah to see that it wasn't wise for them to set up George, but both of the teens refused to listen. On the day Rusty was arresting Nicky Sutton, George's partner, George ran back home with the last drug buy that George was going to make. Cam and Dinah, on a tip from Rose McLaren, came home with Lt. Wyatt waiting right outside. When George came home he started abusing both Cam and Dinah until the bag of coke he bought from Nicky Sutton came falling out of his pocket onto the kitchen floor. Lt. Wyatt came in and arrested George right on the spot. George went to prison shortly after. When Dinah decided to move to Paris in early 1989, Cam followed her and hasn't been seen since.