Mrs. Oleson invites a charismatic preacher, the Rev. James Danforth, to preach in Walnut Grove. He immediately woos parishioners away from Rev. Alden's congregation with his fiery sermons and "faith healing." But nobody is aware he is a charlatan, and it will soon have tragic results.

A longtime friend of Caroline writes to her and asks for help. Her friend is pregnant and lives at a gold prospector's camp where there is an outbreak of influenza. Caroline finds out that her friend's husband doesn't like her wife. In fact, he wants his wife's baby to die. Caroline's friend dies during childbirth, but the child survives. In another tent, a mother's child dies while be born. Caroline decides to give the baby to the other mother since she knows that the baby will be taken care of properly.