James McMurtry

Call must say goodbye to his closest friend after he's wounded by Indians. Call arrives in New Mexico and confronts a captured Blue Duck.

Needing money to complete work on the cabin, Newt hires on as a scout for the Army, little knowing that his assignment will be tracking down deserters. Meanwhile, in Curtis Wells, Hannah and Mosby work together, selflessly providing relief to a group of settlers who may be infected with cholera. Newt and the young officer accompanying him return with the last deserter to discover that the army detachment has been wiped out. Newt and the young officer face off in a conflict over whether the deserter should now go free.

The Hell Bitch is captured by Crow braves and Newt is left stranded. Luckily he manages to hitch a ride on the Stagecoach bound for Curtis Wells. Unluckily, the stage is fired upon. Newt has to fight for his life and the lives of his fellow passengers. It turns out that one of the passengers, a Pinkerton, named Shaw, is responsible for the vicious attack. The gunmen want revenge for the murder of their brother.

Curtis Wells is cut off from the rest of the world until the snow clears in the passes. Newt and Kearny rescue a group of minors lost in the mountains and near frozen to death. Mosby and Newt come to blows over Hannah, but are forced to fight together when the miners turn out to be a ruthless gang of criminals. The gang takes control of the town led by a psychotic murderer.

Coming from different directions, Newt and Mosby join forces to pursue whiskey traders. Newt's involvement stems from an army scouting job, looking for a gang that illegally provides whiskey to Indians. Mosby's participation is driven by his desire to protect his business interests, as a customer at his saloon is Curtis Wells dies of tainted whiskey. Ida takes in a young waif with a mysterious past who turns out to be the pregnant girlfriend of the delivery man for the whiskey traders.

When Travis Packard returns to Curtis Wells after three years in prison for bank robbery, he's welcomed by some, mistrusted by others. He works hard to get back the respect of all the townsfolk. But Travis' future looks doomed when bounty hunter, Rance Telford, rides into town and is made a deputy by Sherriff Kearney. Telford is on to get Travis, believing that he knows the whereabouts of the unrecovered bank robbery gold. Newt and Travis figure out where the gold is but Telford shows up to claim it for himself.

Newt and Buffalo Bill team up to find the legendary Indian Chief, Iron Bow, when he goes AWOL from reserve land. At home, Hannah mediates in a battle between Austin and Josiah. When her attempts to make peace fail, Austin seeks solace in the cesspool of Sweetwater. Hannah rides to Sweetwater and brings her brother back home to face charges of plagiarism. Out on the trail, a hot headed renegade named Crowchild orchestrates a situation that pits the army and Iron bow against each other.

Newt and Hannah travel to Bismark to attend Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and end up helping Bill stave off financial ruin and keep his beloved show on the stage. They put their ranch up as collateral against Bill's bank loan. In the meantime Bill's wife, Lulu arrives to celebrate their wedding anniversary only to discover that Bill has sold everything they own to finance his stage extravaganza and has had a dalliance with a showgirl, named Glory.

A dispute over a woman pits Austin against a disgruntled cowboy who turns out to be a famous gunfighter, Vern Parker. As the two men face each other in a duel, drifter and musician, Murph, fires the fatal shot from an unseen location, saving Austin's life. Austin believes that it was his bullet that killed Parker and he enjoys his own legend in the making. Newt, knowing Murph is responsible rides out after him. Murph is revealed to be a Pinkerton operative hot on the trail of the O'Malley Gang.

When photographer, Claudia Harrell sets up her camera in Curtis Wells she creates a stir because she doesn't act or dress like most frontier women. Newt discovers Claudia is a far more complex individual than even her blatant idiosyncrasies would imply. She is wanted for killing her husband and Newt has to do his duty as a lawman and take her in. But he discovers she is dying from exposure to the very chemicals that make her photography work a reality and give her life meaning.

Rustlers ambush Newt as he drives cattle belonging to the residents of Curtis Wells toward the railhead. A man he trusted and brought back to Curtis Wells, barely alive, shoots Newt off his horse. Hannah keeps a constant vigil by his bedside until he is out of danger. Meanwhile, Olivia Jessup, a Southern Belle from Mosby's past arrives and forms a partnership with Mosby, turning the Pig's Eye into a fine gambling house.

Newt trails horses to Sweetwater, only to find the deal he made with the livery no longer stands. He discovers the entire town is in tyrant Martin Sullivan's pocket and Sullivan has hired a group of enforcers to make sure it stays that way. Newt meets Frances Maitland, (12 years old) who has just come to town to live with her father, Sheriff Clind Maitland. Newt finds out that a small group of Sweetwater residents have done to heroic lengths to get their town back. He helps them see that justice is served and Sullivan ousted.