Two of Rykers' drunken cowhands cause a fire, accidentally killing a young woman. Her husband shoots one of the cowhands, who eventually dies. Ryker announces he's going after the husband who killed his cowhand. Meanwhile, a preacher shows up to perform the funeral service and gets involved. The steps he takes to stop the feud are shocking.

Shane does everything he can to make sure Marion gets to a special dance. Nothing short of death will keep him from his duty. Using a deck of cards, he convinces Ryker to leave the family's homestead alone while they are gone, drives the family three days to a city where the dance is to be held, and fights Indians after they steal Marion's dress. But at the end of the trip, the family gets a big surprise.

A woman arrives in town and announces to Joey that she is an old acquaintance of Tom's. Tom soon has to reveal a deep dark secret from his past and the reason he left the bench. But the woman is out for revenge, and not even Shane may be able to stop it this time.

There is a man interested in courting Marian and it's not Shane. Actually, the person doing the courting is quite shocking to everyone. Marian sees this new interest as a way to make Shane jealous and it works like a charm; but will her attempts backfire?