Mace Gore's gang has taken over Dodge. When Matt is believed killed, Festus and Doc have a plan to lure Gore into a trap, even though his usual plan is to leave by dawn.

A man is convicted of robbing and murdering his partner, but the sons of Matt's old friend are responsible. Matt must arrest the remaining son after the other's dying declaration and make it to Hays City in time to stop the hanging.

Twenty-two men escape from a territorial prison. The remaining 4 kidnap Matt hoping to get safe passage into Mexico. One of them has another agenda which he reveals to Matt as they get closer to the border.

A band of robbers have hit numerous banks with uncanny precision, planning and ease. They have their sights on Dodge now but they must remove a big obstacle before they can proceed - Marshal Dillon.

Gunman Will Mannon comes to Dodge, after shooting Festus and taking his mule, to face Matt in a gunfight.

A friend of Newly's is about the victim of a con game.

With Matt out helping the Army deliver a gold shipment, Dodge is wide open for Morgan and his men to come in with a Gatlin gun and take over. Breaking into the Long Branch, Morgan is helping himself to whiskey when Kitty shoots him hitting him in the shoulder and the face. With Matt and the gold on the way and Morgan sitting with a big gun and a fever and a crazy streak from the permanent scar he's gonna have, Dodge can only wait to see what comes next.

Newly falls in love with a woman who could put him in danger, once her past is known.

When a lawman's gun arm is shot up, he's essentially a sitting duck. That's what Matt figures when his ability to shoot again is in doubt. So, he leaves the badge and Dodge behind as well as Kitty, Festus, Doc, and Newly. Like vultures circling, outlaws start coming in to gun Dillon down. But, Dillon is out and about and a new marshal is in town. He meets a young man who is handy with a gun but refuses to shoot any living creature even if it were for his own life. Circumstances prove to both men that sometimes responsibility to duty requires more than just the ability to shoot.