Walker Daniels came to Oakdale at the request of Dr. Bob Hughes to investigate a series of deaths at Memorial Hospital. A forensic pathologist, it was his job to examine all the evidence and figure out what was causing the deaths. It didn't take long to discover that there was foul play involved and soon Walker came up with a prime suspect---Dr. Rick Decker. Though Decker would wind up being attacked himself, Walker still suspected him. However the Oakdale PD resented Walker's presence on the case and demanded that he back off on a criminal investigation. Let go from Memorial after another suspect, Dr. Gordon, allegedly committed suicide, Walker was approached by Chief of Police Hal Munson who conceded that Walker could be right and hired Walker as a medical consultant. Not long after, Rick was apprehended and Walker was offered a position at Memorial.

Almost a year later, Walker was called upon to examine Barbara Ryan, a fashion designer who'd been experiencing bouts of blindness. After a cursory exam, Walker determined that Barbara had a tumor against her eye. Although he recommended treatment, Barbara made him vow to keep her condition a secret and told him that she needed more time to put her affairs in order, mainly getting her company off the ground again for the sake of her children. Not seeing any harm in waiting, Walker complied. However, as the weeks went by, Walker became more and more concerned about Barbara's health since the longer she waited the greater chance her condition could be fatal. Finally, fed up with Barbara's hesitation, Walker gave her an ultimatum--either get treatment or he'd tell her family of her condition. Faced with the revelation that time was running out for her, Barbara agreed to undergo radiation treatment, but insisted it be kept secret. Finally, the truth came out during Barbara's fashion show. Luckily, Barbara's tumor was successfully eradicated. In the weeks that Walker had been treating Barbara, he'd come to like Barbara and the two began dating. Unfortunately, the relationship ended when Walker learned that Barbara, in a misguided effort to protect her children from her ex-husband, lied to her children that she was going to New York to have more tests since the tumor had returned. When Barbara lied a second time, in order to get released from the mental hospital where she was committed, Walker washed his hands of her completely.