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Hunt agrees to help a deputy sheriff from Amarillo track three killers leaving a trail of bodies from Colorado into New Mexico. Meanwhile, Beth digs in against letting Cindy go when her uncle shows up from Tennessee, a visit that ends with an unexpected twist. Hunt's gold stash finally funds construction at Hidden Valley, and a chance saloon meeting leads to a new logging venture. His deputies track down the men who shot Sheriff Collins, while Clayton, Earl, and Horse chase bank robbers into Utah, ending in a brutal shootout that leaves both Clayton and Earl wounded. Hunt then leads a manhunt for the killers of a robbed couple, a difficult case made harder when one of the men arrested turns out to be a frightened, well-mannered teenager, prompting Hunt to plead with the judge for mercy.

Hunt and his men stay busy fighting off miners contesting Hunt's claim to Hidden Valley, cleaning up a mining town seized by extortionist gunfighters, and dealing with a relentless bear terrorizing a railroad crew in Utah. Two deputies tracking a murderer along the Apache Trail cross paths with the formidable Chief Mangas Coloradas, while Hunt juggles overseeing construction at Hidden Valley and logging alongside his usual duties. A trip to inspect a newly purchased ranch in Hudson turns up a surprising discovery, and a stop to check on Julia and Jason Barnes pulls Hunt into helping them out of trouble yet again. Hunt also dispatches deputies to stop a delusional man plotting to resurrect notorious killers and assassinate President Pierce, and closes things out by spotting a promising recruit and sending him to Kansas City to meet Jed Fox.

Hunt and his men stay busy tracking criminals of every kind, and he's pleased when old friend Charles Crawford arrives and joins him in searching for a murderer connected to a wagon train. Charles, surprisingly, also asks Hunt to give Gray Wolf a shot as a Deputy Marshal, and Hunt agrees to send him with his men out on trial. But Charles's visit takes a dark turn when he's bushwhacked by fugitives desperate for a fresh horse, sparking a frantic search after his horse returns alone, while Hunt's men fan out in every direction to hunt down both Charles's attackers and the other criminals plaguing the territory.

Hunt and his men stay busy chasing bank robbers while Hunt searches for a bigger home for his family, only to be stunned when the house he wanted goes to his friend Charles instead. A mission to arrest a delusional man convinced he's a reincarnated Roman Emperor bent on conquering the world takes a dark turn when Jared and Clover are ambushed by Indians and pinned down on a cliff, running low on supplies as reinforcements arrive for their attackers. Hunt's rescue party faces the same fate, getting trapped in a cove by overwhelming numbers. Amid the chaos, Hunt's men also untangle a cattle theft rooted in a rancher's bitter feud with his neighbor, while Hunt juggles street brawls, pickpockets, murderers and more, all while caring for a sick wife and searching for a home that fits his growing family.

Hunt and his men continue confronting thieves and con men, starting with a troublesome new neighbor whose dispute with Hunt escalates after Sheriff Collins intervenes, culminating in a stranger claiming rightful ownership of Hidden Valley itself, forcing Hunt into a courtroom fight to save his ranch. Elsewhere, tensions between ranchers and new settlers turn tragic when Hunt's men arrive too late to save one family, and a dispute in Wyoming erupts into a saloon shootout that leaves the marshals badly outnumbered when a rancher and his hired guns draw on them. Packed with gunfights and land disputes, this episode delivers a surprising finale.

This episode brings drama and gun battles as Hunt tracks a twenty-man gang terrorizing small towns, killing people, and heading towards Denver, only to find they've split into two groups spreading chaos across Colorado. Meanwhile, a circus comes to town with its exotic animals, and when a chimpanzee escapes and a string of home robberies begin, Hunt starts to suspect the escape wasn't an accident at all, though proving it in court is another matter entirely.

Hunt fields a surprising offer while buying hay from a neighboring ranch, then steps in to protect Charles Crawford's prize stallion when trouble arises in Charles's absence. Meanwhile, a man arrives in Denver blaming Hunt for his father and brother's deaths, and despite the tension, the two form an unlikely friendship, though the man secretly plans revenge against Hunt and his deputies. After a deadly train robbery, Hunt's men track the culprits through rough terrain, eventually arresting five men in Trinidad and facing a grueling five-day ride to Texas with their prisoners. Elsewhere, Jewels escorts a grieving woman, Lucille Patterson, to the site of her brother's murder  and the two unexpectedly fall in love, with Jewels soon accepting a promotion and planning a wedding. But the vengeful man from earlier resurfaces with a devastating plan to target the couple, and Hunt's men race to stop him, arriving just as the shots are heard.

Jewel's slow recovery weighs on Lucille, stirring doubts about marrying a lawman. Meanwhile, Hunt sends men to track a cougar after the rancher hunting it vanishes, worrying his wife, and receives an unsettling telegram from Judith about Charles's overdue ship. When Dodd suffers a fainting spell that leaves Dr. Green stumped, he's sent to New Orleans for treatment, leaving Hunt shorthanded and forced to join his men on a dangerous mission where deputies find themselves pinned down in a gun battle, low on food and water.

This adventure brings plenty of drama as Hunt takes on a new deputy with a reputation for defying authority, needing to whip him into shape fast. Leading his men into Idaho Territory to stop mountain men leading raids on wagon trains and other mountain men with a band of Indians, Hunt runs into a furious Shoshone chief demanding his horse and Gray Wolf in exchange for safe passage. Meanwhile, Horse returns from a mission to find his mother missing, then furious to learn she's married a rough mountain man. Bekins' surprise visit with two instructors brings devastating news that shakes Hunt, even as his men face a dangerous arrest at a ranch where lawmen are shot on sight, and other marshals move to capture a madman calling himself Satan's Angel.

Hunt keeps searching for new deputies to fill the gaps left by departing men, as Jewels, Elizabeth, Bill, and Langley join the team for a mission to Oregon. Dodd's finished cabin sits oddly unused, while Hunt sends new recruit Duke out on his first mission, uncertain how he'll perform. With his men scattered chasing killers and thieves, Hunt is left alone to face a vengeful killer who has come to Denver with him squarely in his sights.

Hunt's men return from Chicago training, and he sends recruit Brian there next. A payroll robbery in Utah sparks a long manhunt ending in gunfire, while at home, complications with Beth's pregnancy leave her fearing she may lose the baby, and Hunt wonders if his devotion to the job played a part. Seeking rest, he takes her to Hidden Valley, even as he sends his men to Canon City to investigate murder and claim-jumping, an inquiry that sweeps up several prominent citizens. With Clayton left in charge of the office, disaster strikes, forcing him to ride out and ask Hunt for help.

Hunt's life stays turbulent as Beth endures a difficult birth, doctors warning that internal damage means they should have no more children. Meanwhile, Hunt's men chase a gang toward Utah but arrive too late, and an alarming message from Buzz Sauer reveals a religious group has seized Hidden Valley, driving off Buzz and George's family. Hunt rides out to find Dodd already in a gun battle, a confrontation that turns deadly and exposes the group's delusional leaders, with more followers reportedly on the way. Clayton leads a team to lawless Coulson, Montana, where daily killings and a hostile town await, and he finds himself drawn to a woman despite his refusal to admit his feelings.