Michaela "Mike" Quinn, of Boston, followed in her father's footsteps by becoming a doctor. Dr. Mike worked side by side her father. But his sudden death caused her the loss of, not only her best friend, but the loss of their medical practice. The lack of job opportunities for women doctors lead Michaela to answer an ad for a doctor in Colorado territory. Michaela left her fancy home in the city of Boston for the western town, Colorado Springs. When she arrives in town she is met with mockery, for they expected a man doctor. She is befriended by Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd) and becomes good friends with her. Charlotte and Dr. Quinn become close friends and when Charlotte is bitten by a rattle snake, she leaves her three children Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (Erika Flores, later Jessica Bowman) and Brian (Shawn Toovey) for Dr. Mike to look after. As the town continues to mock Michaela for expecting to be the town doctor, she meets Sully, a white man ""turned"" Native American who lets he

Horror mounts when a flu epidemic attacks Colorado Springs. Dr. Mike must attend the sick townspeople and protect others from getting the deadly disease. But being a lady doctor has people questioning whether she can handle the fatal epidemic.

Er heerst chaos wanneer Colorado Springs wordt geteisterd door een griepvirus. Dokter Quinn neemt maatregelen om de uitbraak te stoppen, maar wordt vervolgens zelf getroffen door de ziekte. Na haar dood neemt Quinn de zorg over Charlottes drie kinderen, Matthew, Colleen en Brian, op zich en ze begint een relatie met Byron. Quinn moet zich elke keer opnieuw bewijzen van haar kunnen tegenover de sceptische dorpelingen.

A gunslinger (Johnny Cash) arrives looking for a quiet town in which to hang 'em up, but Colorado Springs is itching to lynch an immigrant (Christopher Keene Kelly) for cattle rustling to feed his starving family.

Winkelier Loren Bray houdt zijn schoonzoon Sully Joe verantwoordelijk voor de vroege dood van zijn dochter Abigail. Als hij beseft dat hij nog de hypotheek op het huis heeft dat ondertussen bewoond is door dokter Quinn, eist hij zijn geld terug. Na haar dood neemt Quinn de zorg over Charlottes drie kinderen, Matthew, Colleen en Brian, op zich en ze begint een relatie met Byron. Quinn moet zich elke keer opnieuw bewijzen van haar kunnen tegenover de sceptische dorpelingen.

As Dr. Quinn is trying to persuade the townspeople that smallpox vaccinations are necessary, the father of Brain, Colleen, and Matthew arrives.

Veel dorpelingen worden ziek door vervuild drinkwater met kwik van een nabijgelegen mijn. Dokter Quinn houdt de steenrijke eigenaar van de mijn verantwoordelijk. Als hij de vervuiling niet stopt, zal ze ervoor zorgen dat hij zijn land kwijtraakt. Na haar dood neemt Quinn de zorg over Charlottes drie kinderen, Matthew, Colleen en Brian, op zich en ze begint een relatie met Byron. Quinn moet zich elke keer opnieuw bewijzen van haar kunnen tegenover de sceptische dorpelingen.

Mike probeert een medicijnman zonder opleiding in diskrediet te brengen. Daarna blijkt ze echter met hem samen te moeten werken. Na haar dood neemt Quinn de zorg over Charlottes drie kinderen, Matthew, Colleen en Brian, op zich en ze begint een relatie met Byron. Quinn moet zich elke keer opnieuw bewijzen van haar kunnen tegenover de sceptische dorpelingen.

Het stadje krijgt bezoek van de cowboy Red McCall. Hij verdwijnt net zo snel als hij gekomen is, nadat hij Lorens winkel berooft. Zijn zieke baby laat hij achter bij Mike.

Sully ends up badly beaten and partially paralyzed following a run in with buffalo hunters who were hired by the railroad to clear the buffalo and Indians out of the planned train path. As Dr. Mike, Cloud Dancing and the kids fight to help Sully regain the use of his legs, a con man who's passed himself off as an advance man for the railroad is in the process of swindling the townsfolk out of the deed to their property. Sully recovers and Dr. Mike unmasks the con man's plan thereby saving the townsfolk's property.

After ambushing Black Kettle's camp, General Custer enters the town carrying wounded soldiers and Indian prisoners, including Cloud Dancing, whom Custer threatens to kill if Dr. Mike does not treat his men before the injured braves.

Later, Dr. Mike treats Cloud Dancing's broken arm while he remains shackled in the livery after Custer's interrogation. When Custer jokingly hauls Cloud Dancing before a firing squad that fires blanks, Dr. Mike and Sully engineer Cloud Dancing's escape.

Meanwhile, Olive opens a Hurdy Gurdy, recruiting girls from the immigrant camp and a reluctant Loren, Horace and Jake for the band. Matthew buys all of Ingrid's dance tickets then shyly confesses that he doesn't know how to dance. Robert E. and Grace exchange looks. Robert E. is still burned from The Visitor (#3).

After a patient of Dr. Mike's dies of blood poisoning, she accuses Jake, the barber, of infecting the man with his dirty razor. Her accusation throws Jake into an alcoholic binge. Dr. Mike tries in vain to pull him out of it, but finally realizes he must be the one to want to stop drinking. She gives him something to live for by pointing out his many friends in town, including her.

Meanwhile, Mike's children try to help her deal with her loneliness on her 35th birthday by conspiring to find her a proper suitor before her surprise party

Dr Mike is helemaal van streek en vreest dat Matthew irrationeel handelt als hij beslist om niet verder aan de universiteit te studeren omdat hij wil trouwen. Matthew is gefrustreerd en wil een Vision Quest ondernemen. Dit is een Cheyenne-ritueel waar een man op zoek gaat naar zijn levensdoel. Mike is er niet gerust in omdat Matthew vier dagen zonder water of eten in de wildernis moet doorbrengen. Ze vreest dat zijn zoektocht zijn leven kan kosten.

Colleen develops a teenage crush on Sully after he pulls her out of the path of a runaway wagon. Imagining herself as a damsel in distress and Sully as her knight in shining armor, she purposely sets out to get lost in the woods hoping Sully will rescue her. A freak cold snap blows up and she almost freezes to death before Sully and Dr. Mike find her. Dr. Mike works hard to save Colleen's badly frostbitten hands, and Sully ultimately has a heart-to- heart talk with Colleen.

Meanwhile, racial tensions in town reach a boiling point when Hank accuses Grace of food poisoning which is later proved false when Dr. Mike discovers Hank has been eating meat infected with trichinosis.

While Brian and Sully are out hiking, Brian climbs a tree and jumps out before Sully can stop him. Brian lands hard, hitting his head. Mike, angry with Sully for not watching Brian more carefully, is relieved to find no signs of injury.

Later, the townsfolk argue over who will build the new schoolhouse, Matthew wants Robert E included, but, in the end Jake and Loren are tapped for the job. Brian begins to exhibit symptoms of compression, which escalate to blindness and later, coma. A specialist can't be found and Mike must perform a dangerous brain operation while Jake and Grace assist.

Meanwhile, the town, including Robert E, pulls together to build the schoolhouse. Brian awakens and wanders out to the new school where Mike and the family find him, overjoyed that he can see again.

David Watkins, a civil war photographer arrives in Colorado Springs. Dr. Mike diagnoses David's diabetes and is frustrated that he refuses treatment and will ultimately go blind. David suggests taking a portrait of the town and an argument ensues over who will be in it. When the camera equipment is destroyed, the whole town must pull together to create a camera and take the photo before David's eyesight fails.

At the same time, Mrs. Bing, Horace's mother, is brought to town, seriously ill. Mrs. Bing disapproves of Myra until she learns how much they love each other, and on her deathbed bestows her blessing on their marriage.