Shawn and Gus are on the slopes on their ski vacation in Whistler, British Columbia when Shawn spots wanted international art thief Pierre Despereaux. Despereaux is so good, he's never left enough evidence behind to be formally accused and so promptly gives Shawn and Gus the slip. Shawn goes to the Mounties for help, who need very little convincing of his psychic abilities. Deputy Commissioner Dykstra calls Lassiter to ask for Despereaux's files to be sent up, and Lassiter insists on being part of the investigation. Lassiter and Juliet arrive in Canada just in time to meet Shawn and Gus at Despereaux's latest crime scene. The thief has stolen an antique necklace worth several million dollars.

Lassiter needs Shawn and Gus' help. Unexplained things have been happening in a small town outside his jurisdiction. Sheriff Hank is an old friend of his and since Shawn and Gus have a talent for finding something out of nothing, Lassiter enlists their services to uncover the truth about the strange occurrences. Hank explains to them that wooden fence posts around the town have been stolen, someone has poisoned the water and there's a stench in the air that Gus attributes to cat urine. But as Hank shows them around, they realize that Old Sonora is not a real town. It is an Old West tourist attraction. Some of the buildings are just facades and the townspeople are all in character. To illustrate this, Hank proceeds to "kill" Stinky Pete, the town outlaw, like he does every afternoon. Shawn quickly notices grey dust on Pete's shoes as the "body" is dragged away and wonders what they are doing there. Lassiter explains that Old Sonora was originally a historic mining town and that he spent most of his weekends there as a child. He will not let vandals shut the place down.