Sharon Palmer

David Palmer's ex-wife, Sherry Palmer is the very definition of 'emotional baggage'. Throughout most of the day of the California Primary, she appeared to be a gentle, caring wife and mother. But, as the day wore on, all of her layers were slowly peeled back, and she was revealed to be a scheming, conniving manipulator, who would have done whatever it takes to become the First Lady. When she leaked information to the press at 11pm that could endanger Kimberly Bauer, David was furious with her. Shortly thereafter, Palmer politely requested that she leave him, and never come back. He turns and walks away from her, even as she yells, "You don't just walk away from me!" And that is the last he sees of her.

Now, on the brink of a nuclear holocaust, she appears at his Operations Center, with the foreknowledge that someone within his administration is plotting to take over his Presidency. She offers to pool her resources, and find out about this alleged conspiracy against him. Palmer slowly, but surely, begins to trust her again. He grants her access to the OC, a warehouse of information, and she is clearly delighted.

However, Roger Stanton breaks and confesses that he has been working with her to smuggle the nuclear weapon into the country. Palmer confronts her, and tosses her out of the OC. She reappears the next day, in Los Angeles, bargaining with a hacker named Alex Hewitt, the technician who forged the Cypress audio, a piece of incriminating evidence.

But, she finds a surprise there: federal agent Jack Bauer. She confesses to him that she was working with Kingsley, but he assured her that the bomb would never go off. After a little coaxing, she decides to do what is right, and stop what she set in motion. She risks her life to wear a wire to Peter Kingsley, and incriminates him. The sting works, and both she and Jack live. She is last seen being carted off to jail. Her current whereabouts are unknown....