At a friend's grave, Steve recalls how the man helped him survive his arrival at Medicine Bow and train him as a cowboy and proficient with guns. Sadly, the man's unwillingness to adapt with the times pushed Steve to his life at Shiloh.
While trying to find a man to clear the Judge of a murder charge, The Virginian travels to Montana where he becomes involved with a singer who finds herself with her own problems. They are able to help each other solve their problems.
Garth recalls his early days as a judge in Medicine Bow in one particularly dangerous murder case. The family of the man convicted tries to intimidate the residents into having Garth overturn the conviction putting him a lonely position.
An American black bear named Moses brings to the surface the lack of respect a father has for his son. When the father is paralyzed in a fight with Trampas, he goads the son into fighting a duel with Trampas for revenge. Trampas refuses it, but cannot ignore it.
Garth trails a woman to San Francisco who he believes is part of a con game involving a railroad deal. Garth kills a man who he believes to be a part of it. However, when no body can be found, he and others start to question his sanity.
A friend has been framed for the murder of a woman's husband in Montana. The Virginian and Trampas go there to investigate the charge as they believe their friend who says he is innocent even though he is known to them as a womanizer.
The Virginian, Trampas. and Steve help a vegetarian with a chimp who is framed for murder and a single woman with a group of orphans. Although they start trying to adopt out the kids, they soon become match makers for the couple and kids.
A wealthy woman persuades The Virginian to take her to the badlands to a gang led by the previous foreman of Shiloh. Her initial story is not the full truth. She wants to kill a man there because of her daughter but falls for the leader.
A trio of con artists target Medicine Bow with an oil scam when a banking crisis threatening the bank throws a bigger scam their way. However, the leader's relationship with the banker's daughter causes him to alter the plan.
An immigrant is jailed for murder. The bias against him adds to the Judge's difficulty defending him. He is found not guilty but when another man is arrested for the crime, his conscience catches up with him as he learns more about US law.
Ed Frazer returns to Medicine Bow after serving three years for burglary. Steve fears for his life because his testimony was crucial in convicting him. Frazer's main interest isn't revenge but renewing his acquaintance with Helen Blaine.
Trampas helps a friend just out of prison who has multiple people after him for the location of $50,000 in gold he helped steal. He wants to give the money back but he must deal with a ruthless partner in the robbery who will kill him.
A outlaw gang traps Garth and Betsy and several stagecoach passengers at a way station. The gang wants one of the passengers who betrayed the gang. The people discuss their lives as time expires on whether to turn over the man.
The Virginian helps three women he meets in the southwest make their way to the Yaqui Indians where they want to be missionaries after the Yaqui killed their husbands. Along the way, he and the youngest woman become romantically involved.
The Virginian and Steve are forced to carry $40,000 back to Medicine Bow after a bank run closes all banks. The Virginian must fend off a family who think part of the money is theirs while contending with a dreaming runaway girl.
Garth allows a controversial coal mine to be opened with Polish miners. Among them is a beautiful woman. She has eyes for Trampas but one of the miners and a friend of Trampas have eyes for her with tragic results as Trampas falls for her.
The Virginian, trying to calm a rampaging boy, shares the story of Trampas' gambling father who reformed. That father tried to reform Trampas before Garth was forced to kill him in self-defense, setting Trampas on a quest for vengeance.
Garth is asked by a friend to put on a defense for a son who has already been hung. The community fights it but Garth plunges ahead with the aid of a judge. The outcome uncovers several unpleasant facts about the community and the truth.
The Virginian is in the southwest to collect for a bad check. He gets his money from the man's dad but when he is killed, The Virginian's old flame is convicted of it and he has to protect her while hoping Garth can prove her innocence.
Trampas is the focus of a bounty hunter when Trampas is involved in the accidental death of a man who knows the identity of a man in Medicine Bow with a $5000 bounty on his head. Problem is that Trampas believes he might be the one wanted.
Garth takes on a parolee that The Virginian has an interest in who has been in an orphanage or prison since he was a baby. He has trouble adjusting to life outside prison and Garth is worried about Betsy's growing interest in him.
The Judge's friend asks him to take on one of his sons as a hand to straighten out his attitude. The Judge learns why the son fights with his dad but too late to stop the experiment from ending with tragic results for the son and Trampas.
Brother Thaddeus with a bad reputation as Willy Kane returns to Medicine Bow to help at the mission. When a friend of his and others rob a payroll, he is suspected of helping them so with the help of Trampas he has to prove his innocence.
The Virginian has dinner with a woman who disappears. He learns she's involved with a criminal element and, therefore, police are reluctant to help find her. As he traces her history, he uncovers a tragic past, corruption, and her death.
Steve helps a deaf mute who was once jailed for fighting. With Steve's help he learns to fit in at Shiloh but when two men kill a gambler and he is seen with the body, everyone assumes the worst. He finds a second friend in a lonely woman.
A cowboy becomes infatuated with an eastern society girl he meets on a train. Against The Virginian's advice he courts the spoiled girl but is forced to turn to rustling to pay for it. In the end she learns the serious cost of her actions.
The Virginian plans to propose to Molly but four men ride into Medicine Bow emptying their pistols into the newspaper office killing her. Although the posse is forced to turn back, The Virginian continues on for revenge but is captured.
Garth recognizes singer Elena as a close friend from his early days as a lawyer. The two rekindle their old relationship but Garth is forced to defend her against murder charges which ultimately forces him to uncover the unsettling truth.
Trampas returns to a town to repay debts and see the girl he left but she is married to the Marshal. The family Trampas had lived with is killed by Comancheros caught by Trampas. Only he and the Marshal are willing to stand up to them.
After his uncle is killed in Texas, Trampas chases the killer into Apache country off limits to whites where he found gold. Trampas is forced to take along multiple companions including the man's wife, a gold seeker, and a drunk doctor.