There is one thing that save this episode from being a total disaster- Will Geer. Had it not been for the way Geer made his character interesting, this would had been a rehashed show with very little entertainment value.
It begins back at the Ponderosa when Candy gets an urgent letter from an old flame, Barbara Parker, asking for help. So Candy and Little Joe ride over to Butlerville to determine the problem.
When they get to the town they find out that the town is being ran by an old friend of Ben Cartwright named Calvin Butler (Will Geer). It seems that Butler and his son are trying to run off all the squatters in order to get all the land for themselves. However the son, Steed (Robert Pine), is not happy about his father's ways of harassment and murder.
Then in a rather odd scene, Candy and Joe place the Sheriff in one of his cells and then rather nonchalantly stick deputy badges on themselves. And like magic they become the law in the town of Butlerville. It really made no sense.
By this time Michael Landon seemed tired with the script and was just mouthing words the rest of the episode. The show finally comes to an end in another odd fashion that seemed written in a quick and easy manner. Had it not been for the acting ability of Will Geer this would have been a major disappointment.