- Vin falls for a married woman and emotions run high as the Seven escort a group of homesteaders en route to their disputed land.
- The homesteads win the rights to land in court, but Dicky O'Shea wants the land and hires an explosives expert to stop them. Judge Oren has the Seven accompany the homesteaders to their land and guard them. Meanwhile, Vin falls in love with the chief homesteader's wife, and Buck and Ezra vie to win the attentions of an attractive widow by befriending her son.—Gislef
- Arrogant big land owner Dicky O'Shea openly rejects judge Oren Travis's ruling in favor of dozens of homesteaders' claim to land he wants to control at all coast, so the seven are sent along to protect the wagon trail. More then on his gunmen, O'Shea relies on an explosives expert, who yet fails repeatedly to stop the caravan, despite making victims. While Buck and Ezra find it surprisingly hard to win a woman's heart via her son, who proves a rude glutton, Vin falls in actual love with the chief homesteader's physically abused wife.—KGF Vissers
- Oren holds a hearing at the town grain exchange, and rules in favor of the homesteaders. Dicky O'Shea protests, saying the claim identifies the land as his. He tells Oren that Mary got the ruling in favor of the homesteaders, and Mary insists that she knew of the homesteaders before she heard of O'Shea. Oren tells O'Shea that the homesteaders' claim predates O'Shea's, and tells him to set his sights on another piece of land.
O'Shea angrily says that the land is his. Buck and Josiah are there, and tell him it isn't. O'Shea, realizing that he's beat for the time being, wishes the lead homesteader Will Richmond a safe journey and walks out. Will tells the other homesteaders that they'll be getting back on the trail the day tomorrow.
Chris and Vin are outside, and Chris claims that he doesn't know who the man is who is arm-in-arm with Mary. Oren comes out and says that it will be a rough road for the homesteaders, and suggests that the Seven stick with them for a day or two. Will overhears and angrily says that his people have done fine on their own. He's heard about the Seven, and doesn't want them near the homesteader's women and children. Oren tells Will that it wasn't a suggestion but it's not, and Will storms off.
The next morning, the Seven go to the homesteaders' camp and wait for them to leave. Vin sees Charlotte, Will's wife, moving a heavy box and goes over to help her. When Vin tries to strike up a conversation, Will comes over and makes it clear that Charlotte is his wife.
Mary and Billy ride up, and the man who was with Mary the previous day, Gerard Whitman, helps Mary off the horse. When she sees Chris, Mary tells him that she and her son are going with the wagon train so she can do a story on the homesteaders. Chris wonders if it's a good idea, and Mary tells him that they'll be fine since Chris will be there to protect them. Mary then introduces Chris and Gerard. Gerard is Mary's old friend, and was a school friend of her dead husband Frank. The newcomer had proposed to Mary first, but she and Frank had already fell in love. Gerard wrote and told Mary that he and his daughter Katie were making a new start, and Mary thought it would make a great story.
Vin rides up and tells Chris that they're ready to go, and Chris has the wagon train move out. Mary is on Gerard's wagon, and says that she looks forward to spending time with him. O'Shea and his men watch them from a distance, and O'Shea figures that if the homesteaders don't reach the line, they can't live on it.
Buck rides up to a widow who is driving one wagon, and tips his hat to her. He flirts with her but she ignores him. Ezra rides up to Buck and notes that the woman is a widow, and says that she's difficult to get close to. Buck tells Ezra that he's not match for him, and says that there is another rival for the Widow's affections. It's the Widow's son Eugene, who is in the back of the wagon and throws fruit at Buck. Ezra suggests that if someone can win Eugene's affections, they could win his mother's as well. Ezra figures he can get to the Widow first, and J.D. tagging along says that he'll bet neither Buck nor Ezra can. Buck and Ezra shake on the bet.
Chris spots a washed-out canyon up ahead, and he and Vin suggests that they ride around the ridge. They talk to Will, who wants to go through the canyon because it's a shorter route.
O'Shea and his men make camp, and O'Shea's lieutenant Happy arrives with the Powderman. Powderman was working the railroad, and O'Shea knows of his reputation. O'Shea tells Powderman that he has a wagon train he wants scared off. Powderman takes a stick of dynamite out of his bag, lights it, and tosses it at two of O'Shea's men chasing a rabbit for supper. It blows up the rabbit and stuns the men, and O'Shea agrees to hire Powderman.
The wagon train makes camp, and Charlotte offers Vin some water. Once he drinks it, he suggests that the homesteaders could put down stakes there. Charlotte says that the homestead they're heading for is better, and Vin admits that he's never been interested in taming land. Vin admits that he's the woolly type, and then compliments Charlotte when she smiles. Will calls Charlotte over before she can respond.
Eugene shoots a slingshot at a rock at Buck's feet. Buck compliments the boy and suggests that Eugene go shooting with him. Eugene hates horses and guns give him bad dreams, but he likes stories. Buck starts to tell a story about a Mexican girl that he met, and Eugene has no idea what Buck is means. The Widow comes over and overhears Buck, and tells him to keep his filthy mouth as far away from her and her son as possible. His friends see the encounter and laugh.
Nathan sees a group of riders heading toward them, and alerts the others. The Seven go out to confront them, and find O'Shea leading the riders. O'Shea says that he has a very generous offer. Will arrives and says that he isn't interested, while Powderman sneaks up on the camp. O'Shea says that something might happen to make them change their minds, tips his hat, and rides off.
Vin tells Will he should consider O'Shea's offer, but Will isn't interested in anything Vin has to say. When Charlotte tries to calm her husband down, Will slaps her hands away and tells her to mind her own business. Vin hints that Will should back off, and Will goes back. Charlotte hesitates and then follows him. Meanwhile, Powderman sneaks up to a wagon.
That night, Gerard is reading a story to Billy as Mary looks on. Chris sees them together and walks on, relieving Vin on guard. Meanwhile, a homesteader is loading up a wagon... unaware of the bomb inside.
In their wagon, Charlotte is arguing with Will about hitting her earlier. She storms out and Vin notices. Vin approaches her and asks if she's all right, and says that Charlotte and Will tend to fight a lot. Charlotte says that Will was happier when their daughter Alyson was still alive, before she died of a fever. Her husband never moved on from his daughter's death, and Charlotte wanted the new land to be a second chance for them. Vin tells her that there's still a chance for second chances.
The bomb goes off, blowing up the wagon near the Richmonds' wagon. The others run over, and Nathan tends to Jack, the man who was loading the wagon. Jack dies in his wife's arms,
The next day, the homesteaders bury Jack and Josiah gives the eulogy. Once the service is over, the homesteaders walk away. The Seven figures there's something about the land that O'Shea is willing to kill over it. Vin figures that two of them riding ahead can get to the land and scout it out Nathan is depressed over being unable to save Jack. Josiah tells his friend that he did what he could, but Nathan says that it wasn't enough. Chris has J.D. and Nathan ride out ahead to check the land.
The homesteaders gather, and Will tells Chris and Vin that their job is done there. He points out that no one died until they showed up to protect them, but the homesteaders would rather have the Seven escort the wagon train. Outvoted, Will walks away.
The wagon train continues, and Mary rides off on her own. Gerard asks Chris if there's anything else to Chris and Mary's "friendship". Chris is non-committal. Vin and Buck ride ahead, then come back and tell Chris that they spotted O'Shea and he's keeping his distance.
That night, the homesteaders make camp and Josiah figures that they need "divine inspiration" to cheer up the homesteaders. He plays the spoons, and Ezra has the homesteaders' fiddler play a livelier tune. Everyone starts clapping and dancing, and Mary dances with Gerard. Ezra gives Eugene some snacks and the boy gulps them down.
Chris sees Mary and Gerard going off on their own and kissing.
Ezra advises Eugene to slow down, but Eugene starts choking. The gambler gives the boy a sip from his flask to clear his throat, and the boy guzzles it down and refuses to give the flask back... and belches in Ezra's face.
Charlotte tries to convince Will to dance, but he refuses. She dances with Vin instead.
O'Shea and his men watch the "wake", and Powderman sets up a barrage. He says that people get in the way on occasion, and he didn't mean to kill Jack.
Eugene complains that he doesn't feel so well, and the Widow comes over. The boy throws up on Ezra's boots, and the Widow sees the flask and blames Ezra. She promises to shoot Ezra if she sees him near Eugene again.
Will sees Vin and Charlotte dancing, and goes over and shoves Vin away from his wife. Josiah comes over and pushes Will back, and Will says that if Vin comes near Charlotte again, he'll hurt him. He grabs Charlotte, and Josiah holds Vin back.
The barrage goes off and the ground around the wagon train explodes. Chris, Vin, and Buck ride up to the ridge where Powderman has set up, then spread out to search for O'Shea and his men.
Will stumbles through the camp and calls to Charlotte, then collapses from his injuries. When Josiah and the others come over, Will tells them that their attackers took Charlotte. O'Shea wants him to sign over the land deed by sundown the next day or he'll have Charlotte killed.
The next day, J.D. and Nathan reach the land. There's a river there, and old mining equipment. There's recent signs that someone has been gold-mining the river, and the long-dead body of an old man washed up on shore. Nathan figures that the man struck gold and was killed for it, and O'Shea probably got the land deed from the dead man.
At the camp, Will insists on riding with Chris and the others to get Charlotte back. Chris tells him that he and Josiah need to keep the wagon training moving. The four men ride off following O'Shea's trail, and finally come to his camp. They spot Charlotte, and the only way in is heavily guarded. Ezra suggests that they give O'Shea his ransom, and reveals that he "borrowed" the deed from the homesteaders.
The others confirm that it's a letter from Ezra to his mother. While the other three drop a line down a cliff to come up on O'Shea's camp, Chris steps out on the ridge and holds the letter up so O'Shea can see it and claims it's the deed. O'Shea tells Chris to bring the "deed" there, while Vin climbs down and sneaks up on the camp to rescue Charlotte.
Chris refuses to come down, and he opens fire. O'Shea and his men return fire, and Vin gets Charlotte free. O'Shea spots the two escapees and opens fire, but they get clear just in time. Vin and Charlotte ride back to the wagon train, while Ezra joins Chris and Buck to keep the villains pinned down.
Mary tells Will that the others will bring back Charlotte. He wishes he had given the deed to O'Shea back in Four Corners, As Josiah comes over, Eugene runs around Will and Mary. Josiah leads the boy off and says that he's going to tell the brat about Hell.
As Vin and Charlotte ride back on one horse, Charlotte dozes off and Vin keeps her from falling off the horse. He stops to hunt some supper, and tells Charlotte to sit and get some rest. Vin brings back some food and cooks it over an open fire, and he says that they should be moving on. Charlotte thanks him for saving her life, and says that she doesn't blame her husband because the land is more important than her. When Vin says that he would never let her go, Charlotte kisses him and after a moment, Vin kisses her back.
The next morning, Chris and the others return to the wagon train and Chris wonders if Vin got into trouble since he didn't get there first. Nathan and J.D. return and tell the others about the gold. Vin and Charlotte ride into camp, and Will attacks Vin. Vin shoves him down, and Chris holds Will back as Vin yells at the homesteader that he didn't check on Charlotte. Charlotte and Vin say that they just stopped for food and rest for Charlotte. Will says that he can't fight Vin and his friends, but when they reach the land, if Vin steps on it then Will will kill him. Charlotte goes with him as her husband walks away.
O'Shea and his men arrive at the river, and Powderman plants charges in the ground. O'Shea sends Happy to ride to a nearby town and get more men. As Happy leaves, O'Shea tells Powderman that he isn't taking any more chances with the homesteaders or the Seven.
Buck and Ezra try to get Vin to talk about his time with Charlotte. Vin takes offense, and Buck apologizes saying he hadn't realized it had gone so far.
When the wagon train makes camp next, Eugene runs up to Josiah and tries to show him some rocks he found. Josiah isn't interested, and Buck and Ezra hear the exchange and are disgusted Josiah befriended Eugene when they couldn't. The Widow suggests that Josiah ride in their wagon, and Josiah agrees.
Vin approaches Charlotte and says that Will is at the other end and they'll be at the new land the next day. Charlotte tells Vin that there's nothing between them, and says that their feelings don't matter. As Will comes back, Charlotte asks Vin to stay away from her and walks off. Chris has been listening in, and tells Vin that Charlotte might have a point and warns that it's getting out of hand. Angry, Vin tells Chris to stay out of it.
The wagon train continues on and reaches the river. The homesteads figure that they're rich since there's gold on their land. Charlotte compliment Will on the land, and he dismissively tells her to unpack the wagon. Vin is standing by the river, and he and Charlotte exchange glance.
Chris sends the others out to scout the perimeter for O'Shea's men. Chris sees Mary throwing near the river with her son and Gerard's daughter Katie. She sees Chris and comes over, and says that she wouldn't give the land up if it was hers. Mary says that Gerard asked him to marry him, but she hasn't accepted yet because she has to talk to Billy. Chris offers his congratulations, wishes them the best of luck, and walks away.
Will tells Chris that he wants Vin gone, and Chris tells the homesteader that Vin knows. Vin prepares to ride back to town, and Chris tells him that the others are going to stick around a little longer in case O'Shea shows up.
O'Shea and his men watch from hiding, and Powderman prepares to set off the charges he planted. Happy returns and says that the hired guns are on the way, and they watch Vin ride off and figure they only have to deal with six men.
Charlotte wait ahead of Vin, and when he gets to her, he dismounts and they kiss. They then ride off together.
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