In the wake of a gruesome decapitation, Hoyle uses the latest in crime-fighting techniques to apprehend the killer, but when the evidence points in an unexpected direction, Hoyle must persuade the town to listen to science.

The Temperance movement takes hold in Great Bend after a slew of alcohol-related deaths. However, when the saloon goes booze free, Honey resorts to selling "medicine" to keep the bar in business.

When the U.S. Marshalls unfairly suspect an ex-slave of murder, Sheriff Hoyle must clear his name by tracking the real killer to the all-black town of Nicodemus, led by Sheriff Nat Love.