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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Jarrod decides to bring home one of his clients, a young woman named Maybelle, for Christmas. Her accused crime aiding and abbetting her outlaw boyfriend, a boyfriend who recently escaped from jail and is now looking for Maybelle.

While out counting cattle Heath comes across a dead animal. When he gets down off of his horse to investigate, he is shot by the same rawhiders who killed the cow. When they realize that he is still alive, they decide to take him back to the ranch for a finder's ""reward"". Once there they find that all of the other men are gone for at least a week, leaving the house and all within ripe for the picking.

Nick returns from a trip from San Francisco with a big surprise. . . a fiance!! While he is completely smitten with her, the rest of the family isn't so quickly won over. They see the truth, that she's just not ready to leave behind the life of parties and numerous suitors, to which she has become accustomed.

Jarrod is happy to see an old law school friend. . until he learns there is a secret service agent on his tail. It seems everywhere he goes counterfeit money follows, and Jarrod is determined to find out what's going on with his old friend.

Mistaken for the schoolteacher, Victoria is kidnapped by an outlaw who wishes to learn to read.

A guilt ridden Jarrod offers to help a man that he helped to convict of a crime that Jarrod now knows that he did not commit. Even though the man threatened to kill Jarrod at the trial.

While having a birthday drink at The Barbary Red saloon with two of his ranch hands, Nick is shanghaied.

Handy Random, theman who killed the man that killed Tom Barkley, comes to Stockton. It's a happy reunion for all but Heath who hates the man, and for good reason. Everywhere he goes he starts range wars to profit from them.

Heath feels that his friend's injury and paralysis is his fault, and ends up being used by the man.

A man comes to the ranch looking for Heath and gets shot by bounty hunters. It turns out he's not a friend of Heath's like he stated, in fact Heath has sworn to kill him himself.

Heath's childhood sweetheart Libby suddenly reappears in his life, bringing nothing but trouble.He ends up thrown in jail, accused of the murder of Liberty's drunken husband, by the new D.A. who's out to prove that the Barkleys power and money can't buy everything. It's a race to prove Heath's innocence and save him from a fate at the end of a rope!!

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.

When a riverboat belonging to the the Barkleys, which sank years before taking with it a fortune in government gold, is recovered, the gold is nowhere to be found. Rumors and accusations soon fly, that it was Tom Barkley who stole the gold and sank the boat to cover it up. An investigation follows which seems to prove that Tom was guilty, a fact that could cost the Barkleys their fortune!!!

Audra falls for a man out to make money off the other ranchers in the valley, by taking their land.

Some men try to dig a tunnel from a general store to the train depot next door, to steal the Barkley's gold shipment.

While on their way to the fair in Sacremento, Audra is stricken with a severe case of appendicitis. Fortunately there is a doctor on board, unfortunately he is being chased down by men who wish to see him hang.