After executing a last act of justice as a Montana marshal, Seth Bullock relocates to a gold-mining camp known as Deadwood, where he and partner Sol Star look to start a hardware business. Bullock soon crosses paths with another new arrival - legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok - and clashes with the formidable boss of the Gem Saloon, Al Swearengen. For his part, Swearengen must handle the deadly result of a run-in between one of his whores and a trick, while brokering the sale of a gold claim to wealthy New York socialite Brom Garret. When reports come of the massacre of a frontier family by Indians, a suspicious Bullock and Hickok ride out in search of survivors; for Swearengen, the results are bad for business.