
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.

As Ben prepares to run for governor, Joe must come to his rescue when a disabled police officer from New Orleans comes to arrest Ben on a 20-year-old murder charge.

When a neighbor agrees to sell his property, the Cartwrights fear the loss of water rights for their cattle.

The Cartwrights befriend a boy whose father has been sent to jail and whose mother has recently died.

Hoss feels he has testified mistakenly in court after seeing an accused murderer's double (Simon Oakland in a dual role) in town.