2008: Brot Monroe gave his life for his country in Iraq. His death affected his family and the love of his life, Taylor Thompson. In reality, Brot had not died in Iraq. He had been disfigured to the point of unrecognizability. When he came back to the States, he went by the alias of Mike Sweeney, the identity of another man in his unit.
Brot hired Tad Martin to look into Taylor’s current wheareabouts. Brot eventually came to Pine Valley to see Taylor for himself, but tried to keep himself obscure.
Dr. Frank Hubbard, another one of Brot’s former comrades, discovered him. Frank encoruaged Brot to be truthful with Taylor. When Taylor found out Brot was alive, she hoped to pick up their relationship where they left off. But, Brot was a changed man. He wanted to be alone.
Brot was admitted to the hospital for treatment of his post-war condition. Dr. Jake Martin lied to the authorities about knowing where Brot was. When they found Brot, he was taken to prison. Zach Slater bailed Brot out. When Brot went to Zach to ask why, Zach explained their lives were very similar. Zach too had faked his death and avoided the people he loved. He did not want Brot to make the same mistake.