Michaela Quinn, a female doctor in post-Civil War Boston, Massachusetts, finds more than she bargained for when she answers an ad for a doctor in a small town in the Colorado territory.

Miss Olive arrives back in town and believes that she should be the one looking after Matthew, Colleen and Brian. She brings with her a sick cowboy who had contracted influenza but everyone is unaware of the exact nature of his illness. Michaela attempts to try her hand at cooking but is unsuccessful. After the cowboy dies and his child becomes ill with the same thing Dr. Mike discovers that it is influenza. People in the town were dying and Dr. Mike wanted to quarantine people who are sick in Charlotte's boarding house. Brian comes down with the influenza and Colleen begins to think that Dr. Mike only wants to treat people instead of being their guardian and starts to resent her. Dr. Mike is running out of medicine and Sully suggested Cheyenne brewed tea but she does not want to administer a drug she is not familiar with. Dr. Mike uses the last bit of medicine for Jake, Brian and Horace. Brian's fever finally breaks and Dr. Mike is relieved but she herself now has influenza. Sully had Matthew go for Cloud Dancing, Medicine Man. Will they get back in time?

Dr Mike's upper-class mother visits from Boston, disapproving of her daughter's choices, acquainting herself with her daughter's new family. Robert E suffers burns. Dr Mike is evicted from her makeshift clinic by the bank.

When a starving orphaned immigrant takes desperate measures to feed his siblings, the only thing standing between him and a noose is Kid Cole, the new sheriff.

Loren, the unforgiving father-in-law, threatens to take back Sully's homestead.

Michaela worries when Charlotte's husband, Ethan Cooper, comes back to the family he abandoned, convincing almost everyone of his newfound ways.

When the town's water supply is tainted with mercury by a wealthy mining baron, many people become sick and Dr. Mike threatens the miner to clean it up or have his land taken away.

When Doc Eli, a medicine-show man, arrives in town professing to have created the perfect bottled elixir, Mike sets out to call his bluff, especially when her children's health becomes jeopardized.

A wandering cowboy abandons his baby boy and leaves him in Dr. Mike's care.

The railroad hires men to kill off all the buffalo, which the Cheyenne need to survive, and Sully gets hurt when he tries to stop the men.

When Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing is wounded by General Custer, who intends to hang him, Sully and Dr. Mike join forces to help him escape.

As Dr. Mike's birthday approaches, the kids decide to do something about her unmarried status

Matthew and Michaela are at odds over his future when he sets out to prove to others -- and to himself -- that he's a grown man ready to take on life -- and decides to marry Ingrid.

Colleen believes that she loves Sully and that he returns her feelings when he saves her from a runaway wagon. She and her friends had been reading romance stories in a weekly publication and in one of them the woman is captured but writes a letter to her love, and he saves her. She decides to write a letter to Sully and goes into the mountains in hopes that he will find her. Lewis finally gets the letter to Sully by giving it to Dr. Mike who reads it first and informs Sully of what was going on. Hank accuses Grace of trying to poison him with her cooking.

While out on a walk with Sully, Brian climbs a tree to show he could fly like the eagle in Sully's story but falls and hits his head. At first every thing seems fine and the town gets ready to build a school house. Brian is really excited about it and goes to help Loren but loses his sight. Loren rushes him to Dr. Mike. Although she is certain of what it is she does not know how to fix it. She wires for a doctor in Boston to advise as to nearest specialist. Dr. Mike refuses to leave his bed side and when they finally get word that the specialist is coming they find that he had slipped into a coma. Sully finally shows back up after being gone for two days and Michaela being so scared blames Sully. When they find that the stage coach will take longer to get here Dr. Mike realizes that there is no other way but to do the operation herself.

A woman dies and they find a hidden boy at her house. Dr. Mike takes the boy in while they try to determine who he is and if he has any family.

A famous civil war photographer realizes he may be taking his last picture after Dr. Mike discovers that he is going blind.

Snowbird gives Dr. Mike a horse she wants to enter in the Territory Stakes horse race, but she must disguise herself as a man to qualify. Sully teaches her what to do to fool the race officials and helps her with strategies for the race.

Loren's sister-in-law Dorothy comes to town to flee her abusive husband. He ends up dead, and she is tried for his murder.

Mike is forced to rethink her relationship with Sully after a visit from his ex wife's ghost.

While hunting, Jake accidentally kills the Cheyenne brave Little Eagle and Sully tries to keep the peace between the Cheyenne and the town.

Dr. Mike and the reverend are skeptical when a so-called religious healer comes to town.

Dr. Quinn's mother in Boston is ill. Dr. Quinn takes the children to Boston.

Dr. Quinn has met a very nice doctor in Boston and is conflicted about staying.

There is a drought and no food for the town's Thanksgiving dinner. The townspeople fight over water.

Dorothy thinks she's pregnant, but Dr. Mike's exam reveals there are other problems going on. The upcoming Sweetheart Dance causes trouble between Sully and Dr. Mike. Colleen and Becky squabble over a boy, while Dr. Mike suspects something fishy going on between Sully and Dorothy.

Dr. Quinn is called away to a Flu epidemic in another town. Leaving Sully in charge of the children. But when there is an explosion at the railway, the military puts a bounty out for Sully. Sully is shot, leaving Colleen to treat him.

Dr. Mike has an "A Christmas Carol" style dream, where she wonders what her life would have been like if she had not become a doctor.

When the silver miners strike, Matthew is eager to take a scab job mining for the quick cash. But, with disastrous results.

The army brings supplies to the Cheyenne as an offering for their land. Dr. Quinn advises them to take the supplies in order to ease their suffering through the harsh winters. However, the supplies harbor a hidden surprise for the Cheyenne.

When a former circus performer and her daughter bring their circus to Colorado Springs, most of the town is recruited as performers.

A woman who has been living with Native Americans for over ten years is found and brought to Colorado Springs. Tensions rise between Sully and Mike when the girl becomes unusually attached to Sully.

When Rev. Johnson sponsors an orphan train in Colorado Springs, he finds placing the children in suitable homes may be harder then he anticipated.

A troop of buffalo soldiers comes to town and with them the idea that the government was using them instead of white soldiers, because it was felt they were more expendable.

Matthew gets hooked on gambling. Rev. Johnson's past catches up to him.

Dorothy's son returns from war with a problem that many vets came home with.

Robert E and Grace buy a house in town. A leader of the KKK comes to town and causes trouble among the citizens.

The town hires a new school teacher.

Doctor Michaela is abducted by Native Americans.

With the help of Cloud Dancing and his son, Sully is determined to rescue Dr. Mike.

The town decides they need a town mayor. Jake Slicker and Dr. Mike are nominated to run against each other.

After Myra quits working for Hank, he drinks himself into a coma and Myra is the only one willing to stay by his side.

A stranger with close ties to Dr. Quinn comes to town with an agenda of his own.

Dr. Mike has a decision to make.

Dr. Mike and the citizens of Colorado Springs look forward to the advantages a train could bring to their small town, but Sully and the Cheyenne fear progress could lead to their demise. While Loren and Jake are creating a false campaign of the town's highlights to lure the railroad developers to the area, Mike and Sully disagree about whether or not they should build their future and their new home in a town undergoing such change. While the engaged couple searches for a compromise, Colleen befriends a Chinese railroad laborer, named Peter, who has encountered hostile discrimination during his stay.

When Loren sets out to prove he's not too old, and Brian wants to prove he's old enough, the two embark on individual journeys that intersect. Loren shocks everyone when he announces that he's going to travel to Bolivia, to prove to himself and to everyone else that he's not too old for the treacherous adventure. While he's away, Brian takes off on his own little adventure -- to camp out alone at night and brave the elements. But an unexpected travel companion -- a grizzly bear -- unites the two "men" in a shared adventure neither anticipated.

Loren's sister, Miss Olive, has died and bequeathed her cattle to Matthew who, along with Dr. Mike, Sully, Colleen, Brian, Loren, Robert E, and Grace, attempts to bring the cattle back to a ranch near Colorado Springs.

The Cattle Drive continues with various difficulties to overcome including conflicts between Matthew and Sully, cattle rustlers, hungry Indians, and a prairie fire. Dr. Mike delivers a calf, and Sully helps her clean up afterwards.

Elizabeth sends crates of books from Michaela's deceased father's collection, prompting her to open a public library. Many become alarmed at the content of some of the books and want to prevent people from reading them.

Brian rescues a man from a trap who has horrific burns to his face from a train crash. Michaela decides to perform reconstructive surgery to repair his face.

Cloud Dancing and the rest of the Cheyenne are told to move to a reservation where they would be dependent on handouts. Dr. Mike, Sully, and the children head to Washington to lodge a complaint and get the order changed.

Arriving in Washington, Dr. Mike and Sully find it difficult to find anyone to listen to their concerns. Sully is arrested for army desertion while a plot against the president is overheard. Michaela must break Sully out of jail to expose the conspiracy.

When money becomes short for Sully, he tries everything to make ends meet rather than accept help from Dr. Mike.

Dr. Mike and Sully are traveling through obnoxious Native American territory when their stagecoach is robbed and they are abandoned. With them are a just married Kid Cole and Sister Ruth as they try and reach home for Thanksgiving. Evading hostile tribesmen is only the beginning.

Dr. Mike discovers a lump in Dorothy's breast and tries to convince her to have surgery. Hank tries Ladies Night at the saloon, and Jake and Loren have a plan to get free drinks. Colleen deals with hurtful boyish pranks from classmates.

Dr. Mike has a hard time accepting Dorothy's decision not to have the surgery that will save her life. Jake tries to escape the two men who kidnapped him.

The town's Christmas spirit is in question when a family who are Jewish immigrants moves to town.

Sully is appointed Indian agent to the Cheyenne and approaches it in an idealistic fashion. When the food intended for the tribe is diverted and illegal alcohol is plentiful, Sully becomes angry. He vows to discover the truth with the help of Dr. Quinn and her family.

A newspaper report of a comet's imminent collision with Earth causes hysteria in town over the end of the world.

Sam Lindsay, an older independent woman, decides to end her medical treatment and take off into the wilderness. Dr. Quinn accompanies her and learns from the journey. Myra Bing goes into labor and Colleen finds what she is capable of.

Colleen and Brian's biological father Ethan returns to town with a new wife, intending to take the children away from Dr. Quinn. The children don't want to go but a court hearing seems to work against Sully and Dr. Mike, who they consider their parents.

Colleen and Brian run away to keep their father from taking them away from Dr. Mike and Sully. After they are found it's discovered Colleen has developed pneumonia. Dr. Mike realizes she has to let them go to save them.

The town puts on a production of "Romeo and Juliet". Brian tries to learn what love is so he can write a paper for school.

Dr. Mike convinces Robert E to take a job fixing a train boiler, then finds out it is a dangerous job.

A teenage Belle Star robs the saloon with the Younger brothers and is shot. Dr. Mike takes her home in an effort to show her a real home life, attempting to turn her from her life of crime.

Ah abrasive Dr. John Porter arrives in town after hearing of the discovery of dinosaur bones. After learning they were found in a sacred Indian burial ground, he proceeds to spoil grave sites under the protection of the US Army. Cloud Dancing and the Cheyenne retaliate by taking the remains of the white settlers.

When Dr. Mike becomes the substitute school teacher, the town gets upset when she teaches the children about evolution.

Dr. Mike and Sully convince Chief Black Kettle that he should move his starving people to a new reservation. Dr. Mike and Sully are both working on wedding presents for each other.

When Dr. Mike and Sully hear there is trouble for the Cheyenne at their new home, they travel there with Cloud Dancing only to find the whole tribe was massacred. Dr. Mike is devastated after the massacre because she felt she should have stopped it.

While on his way to resign as Indian Agent, Sully discovers Loren badly injured in the wilderness and must battle his own despair in order to save him. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike is worried about Brian who is consumed with his efforts to build a flying machine.

Dr. Mike and Sully go to Rev Johnson for a honest discussion regarding their upcoming marriage.After originally agreeing they have no conflicts, the couple begin reliving their past difficulties via prior show clips since they first met.

The town of Colorado Springs is preparing for an event of a lifetime, the marriage of Sully and Dr. Mike. Unexpected guests include Dr. Mike's mother Elizabeth Quinn and two of her sisters Rebecca and Marjorie. They have brought with them enough Boston finery to pull off a splendid society wedding. Meanwhile General Custer has put out a bounty on Cloud Dancing which could interfere with the wedding.

Bolstered by the long-awaited arrival of the railroad, the citizens of Colorado Springs busily prepare for the biggest social event in the town's history, the wedding of Dr. Mike and Sully. The first train carries some surprise visitors, Dr. Mike's mother, Elizabeth, and sisters Marjorie and Rebecca, who have unexpectedly traveled all the way from Boston for the occasion. However, their elaborate wedding plans threaten to ride roughshod over the townsfolk's more homespun arrangements. Sully, meanwhile, is crestfallen to learn that Gen. Custer has placed a bounty on the head of his close friend Cloud Dancing, who he had planned to have as his Best Man.

Dr. Mike and Sully return from their honeymoon and begin unpacking at their new homestead. A Boston banker comes to town and stirs up controversy among the townspeople as the inevitability of progress ensues.

Loren convinces the town to pay a baseball team to visit for an exhibition game against the town's team. The two teams will share the ticket sales, but problems arise when it's discovered Loren didn't read the fine print.

As Dr. Mike becomes increasingly absorbed in her romantic life with Sully, Colleen, feeling rebellious, joins her school friends in dangerous and questionable escapades. When Brian also begins to feel ignored, Mike and Sully realize how important it is to balance their new life.

Brian's dog Pup gets bitten by a rabid raccoon. Then Matthew's fiancée gives the dog water. She also gets bitten.

Elderly Abner Foley comes to town looking for alternative treatment and a very friendly dog adopts Jake Slicker. The rest of the town looks forward to the costume party but first Brian must face a very big fear.

Dorothy gets her book about the town published, but the townsfolk read her depiction of them differently than she intended.

Sully's best friend asks him to come to Nevada to help him. Loren suffers a stroke and Dr. Mike believes that he can recover if he works at it, but Loren's negative attitude prevents any progress.

Dr. Mike intends to climb up Pike's Peak as part of a birthday celebration to the derision of the men. Grace, Dorothy, and Myra decide to join her. Jake and Preston plan a casino with the doctor away.

Dr. Mike injures herself after the other women have turned back on their quest to climb Pike's Peak. Sully steps in for his wife on the council to thwart Jake and Preston's casino plans. Grace, Myra, and Dorothy change their minds and head back up the mountain.

As the community prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, Dr. Mike and Sully become anxious with their inability to conceive. As the couple try to get used to the idea of not having a baby, Jake becomes depressed about being alone.

Rushing to the railroad camp to battle an epidemic, Dr. Mike & Sully are shocked to find Matthew, heartbroken over the recent death of his fiancée, running the saloon there.

Dr. Mike and her family receive an unexpected gift from Boston, a small poodle unsuited to life on the frontier. Brian has his first crush on Sara, Preston is embarrassed by a painful kidney stone, and the Reverend plans a living nativity.

An young orphan boy is taken in by Grace and Robert E. begins to show symptoms of an unknown health problem.

As the town grows, a rowdier element is evident and the citizenry wants a little more law and order. Matthew believes he is suited for the job of sheriff but refuses to carry a gun which worries Dr. Mike.

After a long period of grieving over his lost fiancée, Matthew finally finds love again, but the object of his affection works at Hank's saloon.

When a charlatan passes through town selling shares in a nonexistent invention, nearly everyone in Colorado Springs buys into the scam.

When a politician's son is kidnapped by a fierce, legendary mountain man, Sully must lead a rescue party to the remote site where a highly unusual ransom is to be paid.

When Ezra Leonard offers a $1000 reward to the capture-dead or alive- of the mountain man who kidnapped his son, Sully's rescue party turns into an unruly mob. Dr. Mike must accept help from Dr. Cassidy to save her pregnancy.

News from his former mentor's upcoming visit has the Reverend Johnson rushing to ensure he makes a good impression. He quickly attempts to raise enough money to fix up his dilapidated church.

When a stranger is convicted of raping a young girl and murdering an old man, he is sentenced to death. Some people are conflicted about whether or not it is right to take "an eye for an eye".

Even though Dr. Mike and the Reverend Johnson favor the opening of a Indian school on the reservation, Cloud Dancing sees it as the final destruction of Indian culture.

Dr. Mike's dearest friend from college comes to visit her in Colorado Springs, both women are initially happy to see one another, but soon resort to their competitive relationship of years past.

Dr. Mike is nominated for Colorado's Woman of the Year and the town regales the judge with her accomplishments. Hank's Nana comes to visit and he "borrows" Myra and Samantha to pose as his family.

Dr. Mike, nearing her pregnancy's end, has her plans for scaling back interrupted when Cloud Dancing is stabbed and Emma needs an operation. Matthew wants Emma to leave Hank's employment when she's better.

Isabelle Maynard, an attractive painter, arrives in town attracting the eligible bachelors particularly Preston. But after the citizens learn Isabelle has leprosy they are determined to drive her out of town over Dr. Mike's objections.

A young brave kills a soldier in self defense, but Cloud Dancing confesses to it to protect him. Dr. Mike and Sully defend Cloud Dancing during his trial for murder.

Dr. Mike's mother and two of her sisters arrive with a young Dr. Cook to deliver the baby. Conflict arises between Horace and Myra which ruins Preston's hotel groundbreaking. Sully works to prevent Cloud Dancing's transfer to another reservation.

Dr. Mike leaves in the night to treat Sully, who was wounded by sergeant O'Connor while helping Cloud Dancing. She goes into labor with only Sully to assist her.

Finally ready to work again after giving birth to her baby, Dr. Mike must lead a rescue party when Sully and Cloud Dancing are among the passengers on a train that has been overtaken by robbers and wrecked. Sully had negotiated Cloud Dancing's release from Army detention, and the two were taking the train to Colorado Springs when a gang of thieves derailed the train in an effort to rob it. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike must again face the prejudice against women doctors when she finds that the townspeople have become used to being treated by young Dr. Andrew Cook who filled in for her while she was on maternity leave. For his part, Andrew has become reluctant to return the practice to Dr. Mike and go back to Boston, as originally agreed.

Dr. Mike returns to work after giving birth to Katie, but has a hard time trying to balance her professional life, wifely duties, and being a new mother. Sully feels neglected.

Dr. Mike is charged with malpractice and must stop treating patients during the lawsuit, leaving medical matters to the young and reluctant Dr. Cook.

Colleen considers leaving college when the famous singer, Gilda St. Clair, offers her a job traveling the world with her.

Dr. Mike's attempts to befriend a Latin American woman are rebuffed; the Reverend Johnson searches for a teacher to take his place.

When Sully is offered a job helping to survey the new National Park at Yellowstone in Wyoming, Dr. Mike is faced with the prospect of leaving her practice and all their friends and moving into the wilderness. With Sully no longer acting as the local Indian agent and banned from the Indian reservation, Dr. Mike realizes that it is important for him to have work that is meaningful to him. Leaving everything and everyone she knows and taking their new baby into the wilderness, however, is a daunting prospect for her. Meanwhile, as Matthew and Emma think about marriage, Brian agonizes about his first date at the Sweethearts' Dance, and Dorothy teaches Cloud Dancing some ball room dances while he provides her with background on Indian customs for a book she is writing.

When Jake and Preston run against one another for mayor of Colorado Springs, they both want Dr. Mike's endorsement, until she is arrested and thrown in jail for treating a fugitive Indian. After Sully and Cloud Dancing rescue the Indian from the Army and Dr. Mike is arrested for treating his wounds, Dorothy hatches a plan to set her free. Meanwhile, with the election only a few days off, Jake promises Robert E a seat on the City Council if he can deliver the black vote, and Jake and Preston hold a debate so that the townspeople can decide who is the better man.

Dr. Mike tries to reunite a father and son before it's too late when a sick old prospector staggers into town and Jake Slicker recognizes him as his father, who deserted his family years before. The prospector, Lucius, is played by veteran stage and screen actor Ray Walston who won an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1995 for his regular role as Judge Henry Bone on "Picket Fences," on the Network. Lucius claims not to remember his son, and Jake is sure he is faking memory loss out of guilt. However, Dr. Mike believes she recognizes in Lucius the signs of senile dementia. The anguish Jake feels is a painful reminder to Brian and Matthew of their own father's desertion. Meanwhile, the huge gold nugget Lucius waves around ignites gold fever in Colorado Springs, especially in Horace, who sees wealth as a way to get his wife, Myra, and daughter, Samantha, back.

Dr. Mike, Sully and Matthew join forces with a legendary marshal to track down the outlaws who wounded Matthew during a bank robbery. Legend says that Marshal Elias Burch has killed more than 100 men. So, when the robbery of Preston's bank causes the townspeople to question whether or not Matthew can really carry out the responsibilities of being sheriff since he doesn't wear a gun, Matthew is determined to learn from Burch and prove he can kill outlaws as well as any other peace officer can. As Dr. Mike and Sully try to stop the bloodshed, Preston and Hank also stalk the robbers, with Hank envisioning the reward money going toward the new hotel. Meanwhile, widowed school teacher Teresa Morales struggles to maintain repairs on her ranch but is too proud to accept Jake's offer of help -- until Brian steps in.

As Dr. Mike and the other residents of Colorado Springs prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday and the opening of Preston's new hotel, they are unaware that a deadly storm is approaching that could threaten their lives. As storm clouds begin to gather, Dr. Mike is trying her limited culinary skills in an attempt to create a traditional Thanksgiving meal - while a somewhat dubious Sully and Brian watch her efforts. But the joy of the holiday is threatened by more than bad weather when she learns that Andrew is opening a rival medical clinic and, worse yet, neither Matthew nor Colleen may be able to get home for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Preston Lodge III is finding that it isn't easy impressing his visiting father, the very formidable Preston Lodge II, who is in town for the new hotel opening. As the full fury of the storm hits and Dr. Mike fights to save herself and her baby, the entire town learns the real meaning of Thanksgiving.

Dr. Mike, Sully and Brian are drawn into the middle of Colorado Springs' racial problems when Grace and Robert E try to enroll their son, Anthony, in the all white school. After Jake is forced to keep his campaign promise and make Robert E a member of the town council, Robert E sets up a school for the black children in shanty town. Since no white teacher will teach the children, however, the job falls to Grace. When it becomes apparent that Anthony needs much more advanced schooling than the black school can provide, Grace, Robert E and Brian try to get him into the white school. Meanwhile, Jake and Hank open their own hotel to rival Preston's new one, and the battle for business escalates.

Dr. Mike desperately attempts to find out why patients are dying mysteriously after having been treated in her clinic. As Dr. Mike searches for the answer to why a deadly and mysterious infection haunts her clinic, the townspeople begin to fear coming in for treatment. Unable to find out what is causing the deaths, Dr. Mike then makes a fateful decision that could mean destroying everything she has worked for through the years. Meanwhile, the attraction between Colleen and Andrew grows while she is home from college for a visit.

Brian suffers a crisis of faith when the Rev. Johnson is suddenly stricken with progressive blindness at Christmas time and Dr. Mike can't help him. The townspeople are saddened by the Rev. Johnson's affliction, but Brian sees the malady as God's way of punishing the clergyman. The Reverend Johnson's faith is also tested and he decides not to lead the Christmas Eve service. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike consults with Cloud Dancing about the situation, and it's he who finds the words for Dr. Mike to explain to Brian and the Rev. Johnson that they should not consider the blindness a punishment from God, but instead a message that the preacher is to take a new path

When Sully opposes the construction of a nearby dam, he finds himself on the other side of the law and behind bars. Sully joins forces with Preston to try and peacefully stop the dam construction which will mean the end of hundreds of acres of countryside. But when Sully hears that the men Preston's hired to hijack a shipment of dynamite are determined to kill any witnesses, Sully rides with them in order to prevent the murders. However, when witnesses attest to the fact that Sully was riding with the hijackers, Matthew is forced to arrest him and Sully must go to court where Judge Webster finds him guilty and throws him in jail, creating discord in the family.

On a visit to Colorado Springs, Dr. Mike's revered Uncle Theodore shocks her and Sully by criticizing their parenting skills with regard to Brian and offering to take Brian back with him to Boston. Brian considers leaving his family when Theodore, a concert pianist, recognizes the boy's musical talent and tempts him with visions of becoming a concert pianist in Boston. Actually, Theodore dislikes what he considers to be the "liberal attitudes" of Sully and Dr. Mike that he feels put Brian in danger. When Brian is injured while on the trail with Sully, Theodore can no longer hide his feelings and Dr. Mike realizes that her uncle is attempting to replace his own lost son with Brian.

Dr. Mike sees that the marriage of Kid Cole and Sister Ruth is unraveling and the couple is heading for divorce for no apparent reason. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash reprise their roles as Kid Cole and Sister Ruth. When Cole and his wife stop to see Dr. Mike while escorting mail-order brides to San Francisco, Dr. Mike immediately feels the tension in the air between them. She then learns that Cole is terminally ill and, in an attempt to spare Ruth the agony of watching him die, has created problems in their relationship so Ruth won't feel obligated to care for him. Ruth, meanwhile, is devastated at her husband's behavior and talk of divorce and seeks Dr. Mike's advice.

When Colleen, who is working on a college paper, asks Dr. Mike to recall her most memorable case, Dr. Mike looks back on the five turbulent years she's lived and loved in Colorado Springs. As they sit with Andrew, who is mysteriously ill at the clinic, Dr. Mike reminisces about her tumultuous career -- its successes and its failures -- and realizes how many divergent cases she has seen and treated. When Andrew's condition takes a turn for the worse, Dr. Mike warns Colleen about the fine line between emotional involvement and professional detachment, an issue with which she has long struggled in the frontier town that's now her home.

Sully's best friend Daniel arrives for a visit, but the relationship becomes strained when Daniel offers Sully money at a time when Sully desperately needs it to save the homestead.

After Preston calls the loan due on the homestead while Sully is gone, Dr. Mike reluctantly accepts Daniel's offer to pay it off, further straining relationships. Things are also complicated because Daniel has fallen in love with Dr. Mike.

Dr. Mike, Brian and Katie are taken hostage at the homestead by bank robbers, one of whom is wounded. After Dr. Mike is taken hostage by Brent and Huston, she watches helplessly as Sully, returning from a trip is shot by Brent as he approaches the house. In spite of his injury, Sully, with the help of Wolf, Cloud Dancing, Matthew, Hank and Andrew, plots a rescue plan. Meanwhile, inside the house with the two desperate robbers, Dr. Mike and Brian do some quick thinking and - with the help of some chloroform - distract the men while they scramble to come up with an escape scheme of their own.

Dr. Mike and the townspeople excitedly welcome the famous writer and poet Walt Whitman to Colorado Springs until rumors about his personal life begin to circulate. When Dr. Cook brings to light the rumor about Whitman preferring the company of men, Preston, who is playing host to Whitman, abruptly cancels the poet's reading, the townspeople shun him, and even Dr. Mike finds herself acting with suspicion when she learns that Whitman has taken Brian under his journalistic wing.

When he gets the papers for his divorce from Myra, Horace attempts suicide and almost succeeds. His friends do what they can to help him, but it turns out that depression isn't always cured that easily.

Michaela gets a surprise visit from her sister Marjorie, who turns the town upside down with her radical ideas. But even though Michaela partly agrees with Marjorie, she has to ask her to start thinking about other people's feelings.

Sully and Brian forge a true father-son bond when Brian's free-wheeling, irresponsible adolescent behavior puts him in mortal danger, and Sully disciplines him. As Brian's adopted father, Sully has let Michaela set the rules for Brian up to now. But when Brian's misbehavior with his friend Anthony puts them, and the town, in danger, Michaela and Sully realize that Brian needs -- and wants - Sully to act as Brian's real father and give the boy the boundaries he needs, which enhances and strengthens their bond.

After Cloud Dancing is beaten almost to death, Sully organizes an escape for him and the others on the reservation, which turns deadly. Sully flees with a price on his head.

Sully tries to get Cloud Dancing to safety in the north. The actions of the renegade dog soldiers take their toll on the town. An old enemy goes after Sully and Cloud Dancing.

After Sgt. O'Connor is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, everyone fears that Sully died too in the fall. Dr. Mike and friends go looking for Sully. Matthew quits as sheriff. The Dog Soldiers continue raids on the town.

Dr. Mike, Matthew, Brian and Daniel find a seriously wounded Sully and move him to a cave near the homestead so they can nurse him back to health while hiding him. Dr. Mike starts working to clear Sully's name.

General Wooden is injured by dog soldiers and dies. Daniel talks with Sgt. McKay and the non-violent Indians are let free. Hank takes over as sheriff temporarily. Daniel runs for sheriff and wins. Sully and Cloud Dancing work for peace.

While Sully is gone up north trying to convince the Dog Soldiers to stop fighting, Dr. Mike finds out she is pregnant. But she suffers a miscarriage and feels all alone with Sully gone. The town celebrates Founder's Day.

Dr.Mike becomes alarmed when a Russian Princess is a guest of Preston's hotel & claims she has a gift to speak with the dead.

Dr. Mike worries about how to tell Robert E. and Grace that their adopted son Anthony may not survive his mysterious illness. Meanwhile Sully struggles with convincing the renegade braves to return to the reservation and learning about Dr. Mike's recent miscarriage.

Marjorie, Dr. Mike's sister returns to town as a member of the Women's Temperance League to try to outlaw alcohol. Jake starts believing that there may be something going on between Hank & Ms. Teresa. Meanwhile Grace has turned to drinking to help comfort the recent death of her adoptive son Anthony.

Dr. Mike's mother and oldest sister visit for thanksgiving just as an outbreak of diphtheria hits Colorado Springs.

Dr. Mike struggles to control the diphtheria outbreak and disagrees with Andrew on whether to use a new treatment.

Dr. Mike reluctantly takes on the role of temporary judge when Horace sues Hank for accidentally breaking his nose and sets off a flurry of suits and countersuits among the town's citizens. Matthew, who has been studying the law, tips off Horace that he's legally entitled to have Hank pay his medical bills. Soon Dr. Mike finds herself in the middle of that case, as well as a property dispute between Dorothy and Grace and a claim by Loren that he was crippled and nearly drowned because of negligence at Preston's hotel.

Dr. Mike matches wits with a notorious Indian hater, Maj. Samuel Morrison, as she tries to mediate a peace treaty between Black Moon's braves and the cavalry, which would include a pardon for Sully and allow him to return home. Dying of consumption, Black Cloud agrees to surrender if his braves are allowed safe passage to the reservation. Wellend Smith, an emissary sent by President Grant, sides with the Indians, but Maj. Morrison is determined to thwart the agreement and put them in prison. Mike and Sully must look toward Sgt. McKay for support in upholding the law

After accompanying Black Moon's braves safely to the reservation, Dr. Mike and Sully begin the trip home for Christmas but are delayed when they stop to help a hapless young married couple they find wandering in the wilderness. The young couple, Chester and Hallie, are former city dwellers trying to find a new settlement established by their relatives, but are hopelessly lost. Meanwhile, Daniel, who has been wandering all his life, is tempted to give up his job as sheriff to accept an offer to run a mining operation far away from Colorado Springs.

Dr. Mike is shot by a distraught man. On returning to work, she begins to become afraid that something bad will happen again and show signs of PTSD.

Colleen's new suiter has followed her all the way from Denver making Dr. Mike and Matthew suspicious of his intentions and leaving Andrew jealous. Meanwhile, Sully and Brian escort a senator and his young son through the woods to help in their effort to add preserved land in Colorado.

Dr. Mike tries to prevent Loren from leaving Colorado Springs when she learns he secretly plans to sell his store and move away out of grief over the death of Marjorie. Meanwhile, the town prepares for its annual "Sweethearts Dance," but melancholy seems to reign. Jake broods over how to ask Teresa to marry him, and Grace's continued drinking threatens her marriage to Robert E.

Dr. Mike befriends a young Chinese woman who is posing as a man so that she can practice medicine in the tradition-bound Chinese community. Dr. Mike finds herself matching her medical skills against those of an elderly Cantonese herbalist when many members of a large group of Chinese passing through Colorado Springs looking for work fall victim to fever. She becomes attached to the herbalist's young assistant, whom he introduces as his grandson but who actually turns out to be his granddaughter. Both of them, and the rest of the Chinese community, are endangered by the actions of Hank, who tries to drive them from town because he fears they will cause an epidemic.

As Jake and Teresa look forward to their wedding day, Dr. Mike and Sully struggle to free Cloud Dancing, who was captured and put in prison for leaving the reservation. Dorothy is so disturbed at the thought of Cloud Dancing in jail that she contemplates helping him escape and fleeing with him into the wilderness. Meanwhile, Teresa introduces Jake to her visiting aunt, Dona Verano, and her cousin, Carlos, a priest. The visit turns sour when the older woman takes an immediate dislike to Jake and tries to prevent the marriage.

Dr. Mike grapples with her fear for Brian's safety when the youngster befriends a seemingly harmless but eccentric fellow who thinks he's a bird and covers himself with feathers in an attempt to fly. Martin Von Hoffman, the birdman, not only tries to fly, he also sleeps in a nest and literally pecks at his food when Dr. Mike invites him home for dinner. To her alarm, Martin turns out to be an escapee from a New York insane asylum. She is torn between returning him to the asylum or allowing him to carry on his self-deception in peace.

U.S. Marshall Elias Burch asks Matthew, still a student of law, to defend him when he's accused of murder. Daniel is forced to arrest Burch for killing Exner, an ex-con whom he had been pursuing. Rather than accept a traveling defense attorney with a drinking problem, Burch asks Matthew to defend him, claiming he was framed. But, a fiction writer who had been traveling with Exner claims to be an eyewitness, having seen Burch shoot the man in cold blood. With Burch's life in the balance and little evidence to support his claim that Exner drew a gun on him, fledgling lawyer Matthew, with help from Dr. Mike, sets out to discover what actually happened between the two sworn enemies.

Michaela and Sully reminisce about the ups and downs of their relationship and make a momentous decision about their future. While returning from a week long trip with Sully, Michaela stumbles and falls, sustaining a head injury. The couple takes refuge in an abandoned cabin where Sully must keep Michaela awake to prevent her from slipping into a coma. Together, they reminisce about the myriad different experiences -- good and bad -- they've shared together and then make a pivotal decision about their future.

Robert E vents his frustration over the death of his son and the demise of his marriage by stepping into the ring with a traveling boxing champion. When boxer Barracuda Jim Barnes comes to town, Robert E, fueled by his anger, volunteers to take him on, surprising everyone by beating Barnes twice. But when Dr. Mike examines Barnes, she discovers that the champ is on the verge of losing his eyesight if he continues boxing and she implores him to retire. Choosing to reject the doctor's order, Barracuda goes into the ring with Robert E for what may be his last fight. Meanwhile, Sully's efforts to get Grace to reconsider the pending divorce from Robert E begin to pay off with help from baby Katie.

Dr. Mike's elation at Colleen's acceptance to medical school quickly turns to disappointment when Colleen chooses to marry Andrew before starting school. A bitter family argument erupts when Dr. Mike tells Colleen that she is less than overjoyed at her announcement and feels that the couple is rushing into marriage and should wait until Colleen completes medical school. Meanwhile, Jake's sale of his half of the Golden Nugget to Preston angers Hank; Robert E and Grace have wonderful news to share; the stock market crash hits Preston and the townsfolk hard, and Dorothy and Cloud Dancing reach a new level in their relationship.

While on his way to resign as Indian Agent, Sully discovers Loren badly injured in the wilderness and must battle his own despair in order to save him. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike is worried about Brian who is consumed with his efforts to build a flying machine.

Dr. Quinn has met a very nice doctor in Boston and is conflicted about staying.

Dr. Quinn is called away to a Flu epidemic in another town. Leaving Sully in charge of the children. But when there is an explosion at the railway, the military puts a bounty out for Sully. Sully is shot, leaving Colleen to treat him.

With the help of Cloud Dancing and his son, Sully is determined to rescue Dr. Mike.

When a politician's son is kidnapped by a fierce, legendary mountain man, Sully must lead a rescue party to the remote site where a highly unusual ransom is to be paid.

Sully is appointed Indian agent to the Cheyenne and approaches it in an idealistic fashion. When the food intended for the tribe is diverted and illegal alcohol is plentiful, Sully becomes angry. He vows to discover the truth with the help of Dr. Quinn and her family.

While hunting, Jake accidentally kills the Cheyenne brave Little Eagle and Sully tries to keep the peace between the Cheyenne and the town.

Dr. Mike has a decision to make.

When Ezra Leonard offers a $1000 reward to the capture-dead or alive- of the mountain man who kidnapped his son, Sully's rescue party turns into an unruly mob. Dr. Mike must accept help from Dr. Cassidy to save her pregnancy.

The railroad hires men to kill off all the buffalo, which the Cheyenne need to survive, and Sully gets hurt when he tries to stop the men.