After Lucas kills a mountain man in a barrom brawl, his father arrives in North Fork determined to take revenge on Lucas and Marshal Torrance, once he breaks his other two boys out of jail.

To keep his invalid mother happy, an outlaw forces Lucas and Mark to go along with a masquerade that he is the owner of Lucas's ranch.

Lucas is torn by conflicting emotions when he meets the town's new preacher—a former outlaw whom the Rifleman vowed to kill.