
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.

Shortly after the Ponderosa cattle herd arrives in San Francisco at the hands of Hoss, Joe and Ben, two of their trail drivers are shanghaied and destined for Hong Kong.

A young bank robber gets a job on the Ponderosa to prevent the sheriff from finding the other members of his gang.

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

Hoss befriends Charlie Trent, a man who went from top Army scout to town drunk after he led his troops into a massacre.