In the 1890s, William Murdoch uses radical forensic techniques for the time, including fingerprinting and trace evidence, to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.While attending Buffalo Bill Cody's Western Extravaganza, Det. Murdoch, Insp. Brackenreid, Constable Crabtree and Dr. Ogden witness a killing when a stunt apparently goes bad. The stunt involved one legendary wild west gunman shooting the other who catches the bullet in his teeth. It's all trickery of course and he's not supposed to be shot for real. Murdoch determines that the man was actually shot by someone with a rifle. When the second member of the stunt team is also killed, Murdoch starts looking into their past to find a solution to the crime. A horse hair provides the vital clue. Insp. Brackenreid's wife has joined the temperance league and he has promised to give up drink. An encounter with the flirtatious Annie Oakley puts an end to that.