Viewers got their first glimpse of Augusta when Joe Perkins, accused of killing Channing Capwell Jr. in 1979, was paroled from San Quentin, determined to clear his name. We saw a mysterious woman (Augusta) in a steamy bath, breaking her false fingernails in vexation when she heard the news about Joe's release. Augusta then employed two strong-arm men to keep Joe out of town. When that plan didn't work, she hired Joe as her new handyman so that she could keep an eye on him. She also seduced him into a brief affair, since Lionel was travelling at the time. As it turned out, Augusta wanted to control Joe because she wrongly suspected her son Warren of being Channing's real killer.

Augusta hit the roof when Laken developed an attraction for Ted Capwell. The Lockridges had a long-standing grudge against the Capwell family, and Augusta was determined not to let the teenagers be together. When Laken ignored this, Augusta sought a cruel revenge: serving Laken's pet pigeon to the family as hors d'oeuvres! As for Augusta and her mother-in-law Minx, they didn't like each other and frequently exchanged barbs.

Originally a villainess, Augusta was transformed into a woman with pain. Her love for Lionel was first put to the test when he became attracted to Eden Capwell. Following an earthquake, Lionel and Augusta got stuck on the edge of a cliff. It was then that he told her about his long-ago affair with Eden's mother, Sophia Capwell, which had ended in tragedy.

1985
Augusta rejected Lionel when his ex-lover Sophia Capwell resurfaced in Santa Barbara. Later, Augusta was left blind after a tunnel explosion and her sister Julia arrived to care for her. Augusta didn't handle her blindness very well, so Lionel coached milkman Frank Armsted into seducing her to prove that she was still desirable. Eventually, Augusta's eyesight returned and she reunited with her husband.

Suspicious of Minx's interest in Brick Wallace, Augusta decided to search her mother-in-law's desk. What she found was a Mass card dated March 6, 1961 which had been made out for Sophia. Curious, Augusta located the priest whose name was on the card. But she wasn't prepared for the priest's revelation that Sophia confessed to being pregnant with Lionel's child (Channing Jr.) just before she married C.C. Capwell! When the truth about Channing was exposed, a jealous Augusta schemed to keep Lionel from bonding with Channing's son, Brandon. Furthermore, in an attempt to get rid of Brick Wallace, Augusta framed the young man for embezzling. It was later revealed that Brick, not Channing, was Lionel and Sophia's illegitimate son, having been switched at birth by Minx.

1986
Augusta divorced Lionel because of his preoccupation with Sophia. She took Lionel's beloved art collection in the divorce settlement, unaware that the paintings were actually forgeries. The paintings were subsequently bought by C.C. Capwell. Trying to move on with her life, Augusta started working at Dylan Hartley's new casino. In the end, the Lockridges lost their home to C.C. Capwell, because of Warren's gambling debts. Before long, Augusta reconciled with a now-penniless Lionel. When she appeared to have been kidnapped, a horrified Lionel asked C.C. for a loan to pay the ransom demand. Then, Augusta came back and returned the ransom money to Lionel, revealing that she had concocted this kidnapping scheme to retrieve his fortune from C.C. She broke with Lionel and mysteriously left Santa Barbara with her ""kidnapper", Joseph.

1988
When Julia was preparing to wed Mason Capwell, Augusta returned for the big event only to find that Gina Timmons had taken over the Lockridge mansion while Lionel was out of town. Augusta rented one of the rooms in the mansion and became involved in bizarre antics like digging up her aunt's grave to find a mystical sexual love potion.

1989
Following a brief fling with T.J. Daniels, Augusta left Santa Barbara once again. Later that year, the infamous mobster Anthony Tonell was shot dead by a hitman. Tonell's widow, who had ordered her husband killed, told the hitman to eliminate Robert Barr so that she, not Robert, would inherit the bulk of Tonell's estate. Though her face was covered by a black veil, it was soon revealed that the widow was none other than Augusta! But despite all her efforts, Robert got the inheritance.

1990
Augusta was distraught when the Lockridge house burned down. She started seeing Gina's attractive brother, Mack Blake, but nothing came of it. More bad news came when Augusta received a telegram informing her that Lionel had been killed in a car accident. After Lionel's memorial service, Augusta was shocked to see him alive and well, and chauffeuring her limousine! Lionel told her that he had faked his death as part of a scheme involving his paintings. Though angry at first, Augusta reunited with her ex-husband. A short time later, she was kidnapped by the buyers of the paintings. Since Lionel didn't have the ransom, C.C. forked over the money in exchange for the Lockridge estate. Augusta was soon released, and Minx was able to scam the family estate back. Lionel and Augusta were shocked when they discovered that Cassandra Benedict was Minx's daughter.

1991
Augusta and Lionel continued to be happy, until Keith Timmons sent her extortion letters suggesting that she hired a hit on Tonell and tried to have Robert murdered. When Laken told Lionel about the letters, he left Augusta. Augusta was heartbroken. Feeling lonely, she started having forbidden fantasies about Dash Nichols, her sister's rapist. Things got complicated when Augusta went to Singapore to meet her son, Warren. There, Augusta and Mason learned that Warren and Cassie were former lovers who now believed they couldn't be together anymore because they were both Lockridges. However, Augusta confessed to Mason that Warren wasn't really Lionel's son and hence not related to Cassie. Mason and Augusta kept this secret for months. Ridden with guilt, Augusta developed a drinking problem. She left town to rehabiliate and wasn't seen again.