'Captain' Call has just buried Gus at Lonesome Dove and plans to head back to his ranch in Montana. Looking at a herd of wild Mustangs, he decides to drive them north with the help of Isom and Gideon Walker. Gideon hires Agostina Vega and Mexican Cowboys to run the Mustangs. Call leaves the drive for Nebraska and runs into Cherokee Jack and a group of Indians, which almost costs him his life. In Montana, Newt and Jasper get into a shoot out in the local bar and wind up in jail. The odds of them surviving the lynch mob are slim until Dunnegan has them freed. However, Newt and Jasper will have to work for Dunnegan to keep their freedom. Newt has mixed emotions about working for Dunnegan who helps him in any way, because he also has respect for Call - who may or may not be his true father. Dunnegan has big plans for his cattle and the future. Those plans do not include those who do not throw in with him and the Hat Creek Cattle Company is not interested in Dunnegan.