In this series premiere, the railroad has hired men to force the farmers and ranchers of Stockton off their land. The Barkleys join with the rest of the valley to help fight them off. While at home an angry young man, Heath, shows up claimimg to be the deceased Tom Barkleys' illegitimate son.

While preparing for a major cattle drive bunching the Barkley's herd with those of other ranchers, Heath has major difficulties being accepted as a Barkley, especially by the ranch hands. Then when Nick's former commander in the war comes to visit, Heath is suspicious of him, and with good reason. He is there to cause trouble and steal the herd!! Nick ends up getting shot while on the drive and has to be taken to town, leaving Heath in charge of the drive. Heath ends up saving the day, and finally the hands begin to accept him as a true Barkley.

Victoria begins to wonder if Tom ever truly loved her, if he could go off and have an affair which produces a child. So she's off to Heath's hometown Strawberry to find out more about Tom and Leah's (Heath's mother) relationship.

Audra is save by a man who claims to be a mustang hunter, but who's band of mustangers are also extorting protection money from the farmers and ranchers of Stockon. While Audra is smitten with him her brothers are suspicious, and soon find out the truth. Which Audra does as well. . .after she is kidnapped by them.

Victoria sells land to an old friend, while the Barkley boys are part of a plan to flood it!!!

While Heath investigates violence at one of the Barkley mines, he discovers that the miners hate the Barkley's for unkept promises. This discovered they work to set things right before anything else happens.

Heath falls for a beautiful spanish girl, whose father happens to be involved in a land dispute with the Barkleys! Her father disapproves of Heath because of his illegitamate birth, picturing a much finer bred man for his only daughter. He sets about using the land problems to break them apart.

Victoria is in a mission church with a pregnant indian woman, when an earthquake collapses it into a forgotten mine underneath. As if the situation isn't isn't bad enough. . they are also trapped with a man whom Nick had fired and who now has a serious grudge against the Barkleys.

Jarrod defends a man accused of murder, even though the only witness is his own brother, Heath!!

When one of Nick's old friends, Mariano Montoya, comes through town on his way to sell his cattle, trouble hits in the form of deadly anthrax. The man's cattle begin to die off and it seems as though they will have to shoot them all, killing as well Mariano's dreams for the money. Until Eugene tells them of something called immunization, which he believes will work. Mariano isn't so sure however and tells them that to prove it works, the Barkleys must first try it on their own prize bull!The bull collapses and it looks as though it has been killed but then it moves and gets up, it works!! Mariano's herd is saved!

A group of irish immigrants settle down on Barkley land, believing that they bought the land legally. Nick, along with the others at first, believes they are merely squatters. They, however, refuse to believe that the land does not belong to them.

Bumbling thieves hold Victoria and Audra hostage as they try to open a safe at the train station.

To pay off a gambling debt, sheepherder Josiah Freeman pawns off his flock on Nick, who stubbornly tries to tend the troublesome sheep — despite insults and threats from his fellow cattlemen

While traveling through a strange town, a murder occurs and an innocent man is accused of it. Heath saw the man who really committed the crime, a fact which gets him more trouble than he bargained for.

A young girl witnesses a massacre, and is now being stalked. Victoria must stop this before it is too late.

When Jennie's house is ransacked by three gunmen, Nick realises his practical joke wasn't so great after all!

When Heath is asked to look after a wanted man's baby, he gets himself into trouble.

Nick is believed to be having an affair with a man's wife, and the man plans to hang Nick in the morning

Victoria learns that her brother-in-law has been declared insane.

The prison conditions worry Victoria

Victoria and Jarod spend the night in a town which has seen better days

When Victoria and Heath head up to the lodge to prepare things for the whole family, their pleasant ride turns into a nightmare. After becoming stuck in a muddy section of road, Heath gets out to help push, only to have the axle break and the heavily loaded wagon fall on him. Unable to free him herself, Victoria sets out to find help. She soon finds that the only person able to help is an escaped convict with bounty hunters on his tail, and no intentions of stopping to help anyone.

An old childhood friend of Audra's returns whom she'd like to be involved with. She doesn't know however that he is emotionally disturbed, dangerously so.

When Nick is bitten by a rabid wolf, he makes Heath swear not to say a word, and leaves town so his family will not have to witness what will happen to him.

When the Barkleys invite the foreman of their logging operations to dinner, Heath walks in and tries to kill the man on sight. It turns out that the man is Matt Bentell, the warden of violent, horrible Carterson Prison, where Heath was held during the war. A man whom he had sworn to kill if he ever saw him again. The family comes up with the brilliant idea to send Heath up to the logging camp with the man to help with the building of log flumes, and to protect the man whose identity has been brought into the open. Heath ends up saving his life and learns that people can change.