After her family suffers a major financial setback, Cordelia Chase is forced to give up her college-bound plans and pursue her Hollywood dreams. Ever self-centered, confident and sarcastic, she runs into bad luck and then runs into Angel while in Los Angeles and immediately talks him into hiring her as his girl-Friday and fellow crime-fighter at Angel Investigations. Later she acquires the "gift" of painful visions, and becomes a vital partner in Angel's quest to "help the helpless".