In the wake of a coordinated attack on the Duttons and their Ranch, John is badly wounded and winds up in a coma only to emerge months later, Bethany survives a bombing, but not without being burned herself, and Kayce manages to fend off a shootout at the Montana Livestock Association offices in Bozeman, while the ranch hands fend off against armed mercenaries hitting the ranch. Jamie, however, has branched from the family and is starting his own dynasty. Everyone manages to survive the attack, but the question remains, who orchestrated the attack and why?

Jamie's loyalty is put to the test, Beth prepares to put up a fight, and the Dutton family forms new alliances.

The Dutton family, led by John Dutton, controls the largest ranch in the U.S. that is under constant attack by those it borders: land developers, an Indian reservation and America's first National Park. This is a world where land grabs make developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world's largest oil and lumber corporations. It is the best and the worst of America seen through the eyes of a family that represents both.