Floyd Doniger comes to North Fork, looking to start a new life. He's got a steady job as the guard at the new bank and he's entertaining ideas of settling down on a spread of his own. Also arriving in North Fork are three men who followed the bank's new safe, figuring any town needing a safe like that must have money to put into it. At the grand opening celebration of the bank, the three men discover the new bank guard is their old pal, Floyd. The three men try to convince Floyd to join them in robbing the bank, after all with a man working inside it should be easy.

When an Italian Count arrives in North Fork, his strange attire attracts the attention of Groder, a town bully. Groder trying to have fun with this stranger, destroys some of the Counts currency, mocks him, and tries to humiliate him. Eventually the Count challenges Groder to a duel and asks Lucas to be his Second. They meet at dawn and the Count, the offended party, brings his single shot dueling pistols, something Groder is unaccustomed to. Lucas as second must see that all rules of the duel are adhered to.

Ward Haskins guns down Joe Flecker, who has evidence that could be used to blackmail him. Haskins thinks the information was given to Lucas, since he brought Flecker to the doctor before he died. Stirred up by Haskins behavior, Lucas goes through Flecker's things, finding a wanted poster for Haskins in the sole of Flecker's boot. He also finds Doc Burrage drinking. Doc is discouraged because three children have died of an anthrax epidemic that he has the new serum for, but nobody is willing to allow him to administer it in time. Haskins rides out to the ranch and is bitten by Flecker's horse, which is now believed to have anthrax. Mark overhears about how anthrax always causes death and is worried because he had bitten by Flecker's horse, also.

Aaron Pelser's wagon train came across a pair of young boys on a buck board heading west and invited them to join the train. When he found out that one of the boys was actually a girl and the two claimed to be headed to Yuma to get married, Pelser and his crowd force them to be married in North Fork. The wagon train folks want to throw a shivaree, which may have been innocent enough except for two reasons. The first reason being that the couple does not count it as their wedding because they want to be wed by the groom's father in Yuma. The second reason is that Chet Packard keeps pushing things too far, beyond the spirit of a friendly shivaree.

Outlaw Sam Morley falls in love with a young woman who has a serious illness, and asks Lucas to turn him in for the reward and then use the money to pay for her medical care.

Dan Nowry, released from Yuma prison, arrives in North Fork intent on getting even with Marshal Torrance,who helped send him to jail.

When a rancher dies after the bank forecloses the mortgage on his property, his son blames the banker for his father's death.

A group of outlaws devise a plan to get rid of Lucas so that they can take over the town of North Fork.

After the daughter of Lucas's friend the hotel clerk arrives in North Fork, two strangers threaten her life.

Town character Brett Conway blackmails Lucas with the knowledge that a young couple Lucas rescued are suffering from yellow fever.

Lucas makes a life-or-death decision when Micah is held hostage and the kidnappers demand the release of a notorious outlaw.

Mark runs away from home after his father questions his story about overhearing a plot to rob the bank.

A famous buffalo hunter tries to goad Lucas into a shooting match.

Lucas is drawn to a young widow passing through town on her way to claim an inheritance, but others who covet it are trying to kill her.

After a young stablehand kills a notorious gunslinger, he is baffled by the hostility of the townspeople about giving him the reward.

An elderly couple moves to North Fork under an assumed name to hide the fact that they are the parents of a vicious killer. The plan backfires when the son shows up at their home.

After foiling a girl's attempt to rob the general store, Lucas finds that she and her brother are plotting the murder of their abusive stepfather.

Lucas and Marshal Torrance get into trouble with the Army when they try to help a wounded young soldier who deserted.

Shotgun man John Beaumont, who Lucas sent to prison, returns with vengeance on his mind.

A sharecropper enters his colt in a horse race, hoping to win enough money to buy his farm from the owner, who has bet on Mark McCain's entry.

An ex-convict is blamed for a brutal crime despite his claims of rehabilitation.

Lucas is out for vengeance when Mark is used as a pawn in a bank robbery scheme.

Lucas tracks an escaped prisoner to a town that turns out to be run by the gunman's brother, notorious for shooting people in the back.

When an outlaw leader lures Marshal Torrance out of town, Lucas is the only one who can stop him from lynching a local man who killed one of the members of his gang.

A former army captain comes to North Fork to kill the man who shot down his son in a gunfight - Lucas McCain.

A new store owner upsets the town by demanding that all credit accounts be paid off.

Lucas unmasks a killer posing as a door-to-door seed salesman.

A deathbed request from an old friend sends Lucas to a neighboring town in search of the man's long-lost sweetheart.

Lucas thinks he has seen a ghost when a young man, eerily similar to a man he killed in the Civil War, challenges him to a gunfight.

Lucas agrees to take a job as a federal undercover agent and goes to Wyoming to investigate rumors of sales of arms to renegade indians. His life is endagered by the town drunk who stumbles onto his true identity and purpose. (Part 1 of 2)

Mark heads for Wyoming to search for Lucas, who's on the trail of a gang illegally selling weapons to the Indians. (Part 2 of 2)

Lucas looks for answers when recovering alcoholic Micah Torrence returns to the bottle—and turns in his badge.

Two ex-Confederate officers seek revenge on Lucas, who served as prison guard during their internment.

Mark and Milly are held prisoner in her general store when two gunmen attempt a daring robbery.

A bandit imprisons Lucas and Mark.

Lucas is taken hostage by two prison wagon drivers angered that he won't give them more whiskey.

Mark goes to work for Will Temple, a badly scarred and very mysterious rancher.

Able Lincoln's claim that he's the Great Emancipator himself amuses everyone except Matt Yorty.

Mark Twain visits Southfork, and quickly alienates the townspeople.

Lucas tries to stop embittered John Holliver from venting his wrath on the people who expelled him from town years before.

The pangs of first love are painful for Mark: the object of his affections has eyes for another.

Marshal Torrance is heading home from a cattle sale with Lucas and Mark when the old lawman mysteriously disappears. They trace him to a nearby Mexican ghost town. (Part 1 of 2)

Conclusion. After Alphonso's wife gives birth, the bandits holding Marshal Torrance relax their guard, enabling Lucas and Mark to rescue the old man.

A gunslinger rides into North Fork for a meeting with Lucas.

Lou looks for a way out when the man her dying father promised her to arrives.

A speculator will stop at nothing to grab Lucas's land.

A peddler is implicated in a series of murders.

Gridley Mau is gunning for Lucas, who killed his father during an attempted robbery.

A snake crawls into Lucas's bed, and Mark must lure it away before it strikes.

Lucas is baffled when the marshal of a neighboring town refuses to hold a gambler who just attempted murder.

New arrival Mario Arsatti becomes very friendly with Lucas, but this turns out to be merely pleasure before business: he's been hired to kill Lucas.

Mark and his girlfriend Laurie discover that an old hermit is very lonely.