John meets with the Governor and says he will resign as livestock commissioner and decides to name Jamie as his successor. Kayce decides to build a camp for the summer so they can keep an eye on the herd. Monica chastises her students for their lack of interest in the world in which they live. Beth and Chief Rainwater both find out about a new threat in the valley.
Life continues at the summer camp while Jamie begins his new job as Livestock Commissioner. Beth pays a visit to the enigmatic Roarke Morris and learns of his ultimate plans for the valley. Teeter joins the ranch as a new female ranch hand. John reminisces about past lives. Jamie is faced with a problem that could rock the very foundations of his career and future.
Jamie seeks to fix the problem of Agent Hendon's murderous actions by concocting a story that will save everyone involved, while earning Jamie the respect of the ranchers he represents. Ellis Steele approaches Governor Perry and unveils his plans for placing an airport in the middle of the Yellowstone Ranch, pressuring her to invoke eminent domain for the billions of tax revenue the new resort will earn for Montana. Jimmy decides to pursue his dreams of rodeo, while John and Governor Perry discu
Jimmy recuperates from his rodeo accident with a little help from Mia. Beth leaks information to the press about Market Equities' unsecured leasing plans to develop the valley, thus causing their stock prices to plummet. Thomas Rainwater enlists the help of an old adversary to battle Ellis Steele and his horde of developers. Governor Perry pays a visit to the summer camp to convince Kayce to become Livestock Commissioner. Beth reveals to Rip that she cannot bear children. California bikers are t
A flashback reveals the origin of Beth's intense hatred toward Jamie: when they were teenagers, she asked him for help getting an abortion when she became pregnant. He took her to an abortion clinic on a reservation, the only clinic he could find that wouldn't notify her father, but he didn't tell her that the clinic would also sterilize her, its usual policy for underage abortion patients. Thomas Rainwater and John meet to discuss their common enemies and how best to combat them. Kayce, as new
Wade Morrow and John Dutton confront one another over an old feud. A missing girl on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation sparks a massive search that results in finding the young girl murdered, fostering a newfound commitment from Monica for her people. Mia and Laramie shake up the bunkhouse with a little late night buffalo riding. Willa Hays, CEO of Market Equities, makes Jamie an obscenely lucrative offer for 50,000 acres of the Dutton Ranch. Beth confesses to her father what Jamie did at the a
Cattle thieves send Kayce and his crew on a statewide hunt for the missing livestock. Rip has a very bad day with Jimmy and Mia. Beth and Angela Blue Thunder align their common causes against Market Equities. John gives Wade Morrow's son a beating in a local diner. Beth asks Rip to marry her. Jamie discovers a secret that has been kept from him since childhood.
John and Tate enjoy a little horsemanship. Jamie convinces Kayce that Market Equities' offer is the only way to avoid losing it through eminent domain. Willa Hays and Beth play tug-of-war with each other's companies' stock. Monica departs on a dangerous mission to bring justice to Native women. Beth unsuccessfully attempts to convince John to sell off part of the ranch. Wade Morrow sends a message to John by exacting revenge upon Colby and Teeter.
Walker is dragged back to the fold after Rip and Lloyd spot him performing in a bar in Dillon. Beth is fired from her job at Schwartz & Meyer by Willa Hays, but vows revenge. Jamie confronts his biological father. Rip and some of the wranglers lay a trap for Wade Morrow and kill him, but not before cutting the Yellowstone brand from his chest. Rip forces Walker to do the cutting to prove his loyalty to the brand. The bodies of Morrow and his son are "taken to the train station" to be dumped.
In speaking with his biological father, Jamie realizes certain truths about his life that will set him on a different path. Willa tasks Roarke with more dirty deeds against the Duttons. Mia confronts Jimmy about the brand on his chest and challenges him to return to rodeo. All the players sit down at the negotiating table with John's back clearly against the wall. Angela Blue Thunder admonishes Rainwater for being a slave to the white man's rules and tells him that the land must be retaken by fo