The series starts in The Republic of Texas in the early 19th century with a massacre of Comanche chiefs, observed by a young Buffalo Hump.

Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae are among a party of eight men, led by Captain Scull and supported by a Kickapoo scout (Famous Shoes).

Meanwhile, in Austin, Clara Forsythe runs her shop and is visited by Maggie Tilton; the two become closer while waiting for the rangers to return.

In the nearby mansion, Inez Scull briefly seduces a young ranger, Jake Spoon.

Scull departs with Famous Shoes to retrieve it, deputizing Call and McCrae to take the party back to Austin.

The party comes across a burnt out wagon and are able to rescue a traumatized mother and her young daughters from some Comanche before returning to Austin.

Blue Duck falls out with his father, Buffalo Hump, and is exiled, and the camp is devastated by cholera.

In Austin, the governor re-issues the order to Call and McCrae to rescue Scull, if they can convince cattle ranchers to provide them the 1000-head ransom on credit.

In Austin, Governor Pease is in charge, but the pending arrival of Union cavalry represents a new phase in the struggle with the Comanche.

In Nebraska, Clara Allen, now a mother of two, hears of Nellie's death and mourns the loss of her own son, too.

The Rangers and sheriffs raid the Comanche camp but Blue Duck has already left seeking to kill his father.

As with others in the Lonesome Dove series, the teleplay was co-written by author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.