Ex-con Fred Garth seeks to exactly re-create the hanging death of his father by casting Doc as the father and Matt Dillon as the young Garth (who was shot in the leg and tied to a post while his father swung). Garth kidnaps Matt, Doc, Kitty and Festus and isolates them in a deserted town.

The arrival of the first woman doctor in Dodge City, Dr. Sam McTavish, riles Doc Adams. However, she soon wins his confidence and that of his patients, and the two physicians make a startling medical discovery.