David Sutton is a drifter from the east headed to Medicine Bow. He stops at a homestead for water and meets Saranora who wants him to take her with him but the owner runs David off. In Medicine Bow David is partially responsible for an accident in the saloon resulting in Trampas breaking his leg and David losing his swamper job. David arrives at Shiloh asking to work in place of Trampas as compensation. However, ranch hand Coley never forgives David for Trampas getting hurt as he counted on Trampas to work with him during the wild mustang roundup. Saranora runs away ...
Dan Sheppard and his son Jeremy arrive at Shiloh to photograph the west. Dan learns that an old sweetheart Della Price is a widow with a ranch caught in a bidding war between an oil speculator and the other local ranchers who are afraid of the negative aspects of the oil industry. Unknown to everyone her foreman is working with the oil speculator to cover gambling losses he incurred with the ranch's money. Della tries to rekindle their lost romance while Dan tries to help the Graingers.
Clay Grainger continues to help an old friend, Tim Bradbury, from 20 years ago in Texas who he feels obliged to since Tim went broke due to a drought after buying out Clay's share of their ranch and cattle. Clay went north and became wealthy. Tim has two sons. One, Mike, works for Clay but is unreliable and gambles heavily. The other son, Walt, is industrious but wants to farm to become financially solvent while his father continues to dream of rebuilding his Texas ranch life. Mike becomes involved with rustlers who are hitting Shiloh and adds to the strain in his ...
Ben Oakes is out to kill Trampas for killing his brother during a bank robbery. He tracks a stage he assumes Trampas is on but the stage wrecks killing everyone but Elizabeth who is blinded. She convinces him to help her return to Shiloh but they become lost and horseless until The Virginian finds them. Elizabeth uses Ben as a crutch during her blindness but also falls in love with him. Ben's friend Jed Cooper arrives at Shiloh wounded after a bank robbery and pushes Ben to go through with his plan to kill Trampas.
The Virginian and Trampas are close to the Canadian border delivering cattle and forced to wait at a remote inn for payment. They find the inn managed by an ex-Canadian Louis Boissevain in exile and a his fiancé Suzanne Mayo who scammed Trampas several years earlier for a large amount of money. The Virginian and Trampas find themselves in the midst of an apparent attempt to convince Louis to return to Canada to lead a revolt while Trampas is asked by Suzanne to keep her secret but all is not as it seems.
Rafe Judson, a Shiloh ranch hand, finds himself being mistaken for the outlaw Wally McCullough. When Rafe learns he will lose the option on a ranch he has been saving for, he decides to take advantage of confusion and hold up the stage himself when he learns it be carrying a $10,000 payroll. When Wally and his girlfriend Angie learn what Rafe has done, they decide to confront Rafe and take over his life to escape the law. Rafe finds he has dug a hole for himself, literally.
An anthrax outbreak is killing Shiloh cattle and threatening the neighboring ranches. Grainger ordered a new vaccine for anthrax but the stage coach bringing it is held up. A bounty hunter and his female prisoner show up at Shiloh looking for horses to go after the men who held up the stage. David Sutton and The Virginian go with them to retrieve the vaccine. The journey results in shootouts and a trip through the outlaw town Misadventure while finding and catching up with the outlaws. During the adventure The Virginian and the prisoner develop a relationship.
The Viriginian finds a woman unconscious on a remote mountain trail on the way to visit his friend Jingo. He takes her to Jingo's cabin and they wait for her to recover as no help is available. She wakes up but is slow to communicate and recover her memory. At the same time another visitor arrives with a lame horse asking to stay until his horse can travel again. As the woman recovers she is attracted to The Virginian in a romantic manner but remembers no details.
Dewey Harper the son of a renown black mustang tamer, Ben Harper, returns home from school due to a lack of funds to continue school. At the same time The Virginian and David Sutton arrive at the ranch to buy horses from the owner. However, the horses are stolen from the ranch while David and Ben stand guard. Since the stolen horses cannot be recovered, The Virginian decides to roundup a new group of horses and break them. When Ben learns he is too old to continue breaking horses but his son wants to take his place, he teams up with the suspected horse rustler for the...
Major James Carlton and his wife Nora make a surprise visit to the Graingers. Nora knew Clay in New Orleans three years before he met Holly and is consumed with impressing people with her social status. Nora is pressing her husband to improve his status by military promotions which she feels have come too slow. While visiting, Holly and Nora are taken prisoner by Indians who have left the reservation and are being tracked by the army. The army captures one of the leaders who they believe murdered a soldier. When the attempted trade of the leader for the women is ...
Trampas and David Sutton are sent to Durango to purchase and return with a bull at an auction. After arriving in Durango, David bumps into Martha Carson who is trying to avoid the romantic overtures of the big hulk "Tiny" Morgan. During the encounter Martha asks David to be engaged to her until Tiny who David mistakes for a diminutive store clerk leaves town. The charade turns into a massive problem for both of them as word spreads and Tiny decides to stay for their wedding. Trampas knows Tiny and tries to warn David but ultimately takes advantage of the situation at ...
Frank Hammel known as a gunman arrives on the stage in Medicine Bow shortly after The Virginian arrives in town. When the people of Medicine Bow learn of Hammel's arrival many of the residents with skeletons in their closets believe he is after them. Hammel tells The Virginian who knows Hammel personally that he is waiting for the 2:30 pm stage but the Virginian believes he after someone. One by one Hammel indicates he is not after various citizens of Medicine Bow. However, The Virginian uncovers the truth with a twist.
David Sutton finds himself in a feud with Case Buchanan over saloon girl Ellen Jones. When David finds Case on the Shiloh ranch, he shoots Case while trying to force him off the ranch. Case's father and brother lay in Medicine Bow waiting for David to show himself to take revenge. In the meantime Trampas who is handling the ranch finds himself beset with several problems around the ranch similar to a neighbor who had to sell out to Buchanan.
The Virginian runs into an old friend Bill Burden who is accused of robbery and murder after their meeting. Bill's son, Dan, comes and ask The Virginian to come immediately to Socorro Creek to clear his dad. The Viriginian is delayed a day by Shiloh business but still arrives before the scheduled trial. However, when he arrives at Socorro Creek he finds his friend lynched. The Virginian is determined to learn the truth and Dan wants revenge while Kate still has feelings for the Virginian as he had for her.
David Sutton quits Shiloh after he and Trampas have a run in. Trampas follows him to Buffalo Springs where both become victims of mistaken identity for bank robbers. The real robbers are children of banker Nat Trumbull and saloon owner Imogene Delphinia who split the town. Dave and Trampas learn the truth and become involved with the kids activities leading to comedic actions by everyone including the inept sheriff.
Denny Todd lived with the Graingers for three years as a child after they found him in Texas lands in Medicine Bow. He learns the Graingers are at Shiloh and they welcome him into their home again. The Virginian feels Denny has personality issues but the Graingers are blind to it as they remember the young boy they rescued. When Denny learns there is problem with a neighbor over ownership of a waterhole, he decides to protect Mr. Grainger in his own way.
Clay Grainger sends a letter to The Virginian to take on a new hand, Scott Austin, while Clay is in Denver. Scott is the spoiled son of a wealthy self made man who is hoping a summer working at Shiloh will make him a responsible person. Scott is insecure and after several incidents including one involving the thoroughbred colt belonging to Elizabeth,he decides to leave. The Virginain goes after Scott and tries a scheme to change Scott but it has unintended consequences for both of them.
Hosea McKinley finds himself being evicted by the sheriff and Caleb Welles due to a shady contract crafted by Welles. During the eviction Caleb Welles is shot dead and the sheriff is severely wounded and unconscious. The Virginian, Trampas, and Dave Sutton track down Hosea and return him to Medicine Bow for a trial but Caleb's brother Jack wants revenge and a lynching.
The daughter, Eileen Linden, of a friend of the Graingers comes to visit the Graingers. Her father has asked her to take a six week hiatus from seeing Peter Bowers who she wants to marry. Her father does not trust him. When Peter follows her and starts working at Shiloh, her and others become entangled in a situation that make none of them happy. Eileen finally comes clean with Clay but other problems surface.
Trampas is sent by stagecoach on a cattle buying trip. At a way station two soldiers and a payroll join the stage and they are told there may be Indian trouble ahead. When the coach stops for rest and water, Trampas finds Jason Adams standing in the river over the dead body of the ferry man from Diablo Crossing where the stage is headed. At Diablo Crossing they find the ferry destroyed and Bud McLister and Marcy McLister who are brother and sister. While repairing the ferry, Trooper Rankin takes a shine to Marcy, they are shot at, and the horses disappear followed by ...
Claire Garson and her manager Nathaniel E. 'Doc' Watson who are entertainers are hired to have Claire assume the identity of the lost niece of Charles Grainger, Clay's dead brother. Charles was killed in a mine disaster in California and Clay has no knowledge of him other than his death since Charles left Texas. Claire's "entertainment" abilities and honesty, however, interfere with her ability to assume the role.
Luke Nichols arrives at Shiloh searching for Trampas. He and Trampas were cell mates in prison when Trampas was sentenced to hang for a murder he did not commit. They escaped prison together. Trampas was cleared of the murder and Luke escaped to Canada where he waited for Trampas to join him. Bracken, a bounty hunter, traces Luke to Trampas who tries to hide Luke with Widow McCloud but Bracken finds him and blackmails Trampas for Luke's freedom.
The Virginian encounters a stranger, Garrison, on a trip when both are victims of separate robberies. Garrison is very standoffish with everyone but The Virginian finds him a reliable person and hires him at Shiloh. When the foreman at a neighboring ranch is murdered and the owner is shot and robbed, Garrison is thought by the community to be guilty based primarily on his actions. However, The Virginian is not so sure but the case tightens against Garrison.