
Ben Cartwright is the patriarch of an all-male Nevada ranching family. Set during and after the Civil War, "Bonanza" is the story of life on the family's thousand-acre spread, known as the Ponderosa, near Virginia City. Ben has his three sons, each with a different (and deceased) mother. Serious eldest son Adam hopes to follow in his father's footsteps; middle son Hoss is a gentle giant -- physically strong, but sometimes naive; and youngest son Little Joe is the most impetuous and romantic of the offspring.
A wanderer seeking his parents' lynchers, arrives in Virginia City as Ben and Adam are convicted of murder.
Accused of killing a dance hall girl, Adam tries to evade lynchers and uncover the truth; guest Buddy Ebsen.
The Cartwrights befriend a boy whose father has been sent to jail and whose mother has recently died.
Little Joe falls for a girl who has been disowned by her people because they think she is a witch and, therefore, an outcast.