
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 former dance hall girl poses as a Spanish heiress to claim a land grant that includes part of the Ponderosa; guest Sebastian Cabot.
Jeb Drummond is a murderous sheep herder who has Adam taken hostage to try and force Ben to sign over a large section of Ponderosa land to him.
An outlaw joins the Cartwrights' cattle drive, knowing it will take him to the town where his father is the sheriff.
Attacked by Shoshones while crossing a burial ground, Adam discovers that the Indian woman tending him is white.