Perhaps consolidating the common content in a single div before implementing the tab plugin could simplify the process. For example:
Sample Markup:
<div id="commonContent">
<p>Some common information</p>
</div>
<ul id="tabNav">
<li><a href="#tabContent1">Tab1</a></li>
<li><a href="#tabContent2">Tab2</a></li>
<li><a href="#tabContent3">Tab3</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="tabContent1" class="tabContent">
<p>Content 1</p>
</div>
<div id="tabContent2" class="tabContent">
<p>Content 2</p>
</div>
<div id="tabContent3" class="tabContent">
<p>Content 3</p>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function($){
$(document).ready(function(){
$('#commonContent').hide().appendTo($('.tabContent'));
$('#tabNav').tabs();
});
})(jQuery);
</script>
This approach is theoretical and has not been tested yet.