Paradise - Season 2 (1989)

The children are running an egg business to help with the mortgage. Amelia and Ethan are going to Virginia City. Before leaving, four ruffians are in town and one takes a fancy to Amelia. Amelia rebuffs him with Ethan's help, so they waylay them on the trail and Ethan is badly beaten. Complicating matters Amelia is taking the money she was paid for the bank to deposit in Virginia City.

The railroad is being vandalized: gunfire, dynamite, workers attacked and run off. Ethan is behind on the mortgage, so he takes a job with the railroad to put an end to the attacks. Ethan finds the vandals and finds every story has two sides.

The orphan train is run by a man interested only in selling the orphans, so he splits up a brother and sister since his clients only want boys. When the orphan train is going through Paradise the brother escapes to find his sister and hides out in Ethan's barn. The children give him aid as they realize how close they came to suffering the same fate.

An old friend of Ethan's, an Army man comes to Paradise looking for some Indians who left the reservation to return to their home which is near Paradise. Ethan, who was a tracker, finds them and the Chief has disdain for Ethan. He also tells Ethan that his friend massacred his people to force them to leave their home and go to the reservation. Ethan at first doesn't believe him but learns it's true.

A teacher (Crystal Bernard) arrives in Paradise. The children decide they don't need school or a teacher and try to run her off.

Gold is discovered on Ethan's ranch and Paradise becomes an overnight boom town.

Johnny Ryan returns with one objective, to kill Ethan. Johnny takes the entire town hostage in an effort to force Ethan to surrender.

Relatives visiting townsfolk are refused departure on the stage when their son shows signs of smallpox. Panic sets in as the stage line cuts them off and more people fall ill. Ethan does his best to isolate the children and prevent townsfolk from running and spreading the infection further.

Ethan falls down a mine shaft and asks help from a simple young man (Matthew Labyorteaux) who says he's waiting for his uncle. A second stranger in town tells John Taylor he has two appointments before year's end. John Taylor thinks one is with him, but is mistaken. The bank is lending money to rebuild the saloon, but Claire wants to rebuild the church.

A marshal sends for Ethan to transport Dan Bishop, a stone cold killer, to Paradise. The marshal does not want to give Ethan custody when he finds out Ethan is alone, but Ethan insists he can handle Dan. What Ethan doesn't know is a gang of bounty hunters are on his trail intent on taking his prisoner and collecting the bounty.

Grady (John Beck) shows up and asks Ethan to watch his girl Edith for three weeks. Grady has a job hauling opium for the mining company, but the Tongs want to stop it. Claire thinks she has a little sister to help her, but Edith is more interested in playing than chores. Edith comes between the brothers when Ben is happy to desert his chores, but George isn't.

Jospeh's tomboy friend Frankie returns to Paradise married to an abusive judge.

A preacher arrives in Paradise to the delight of the entire town - except Ethan. The preacher was serving a life sentence in prison based on Ethan's testimony and swore he'd get out one day and kill Ethan. After just 7 years he was paroled and has convinced everyone but Ethan that he means Ethan no harm.

Gideon McKay returns to Paradise supposedly sent by Ethan to help him on a job. But Ethan didn't send for him. It was his son, Doug. He tells them that some people are being pressured by a rancher to leave their land. Gideon wants to take the job but Ethan doesn't. The rancher sent some of his men to dissuade them but they are not intimidated and take care of them. But Ethan still doesn't want to take the job but Gideon goes and Ethan tells him he might be too old to go at it alone. Gideon goes anyway and is taken down. Doug then tells Ethan what happened and he goes.

Jerome the mentally challenged boy Ethan knows is caught over the dead body of a girl he likes who constantly rebuffs him with his hands on her throat. He is tried and the jury among whose members is Ethan, has to decide if he's guilty. Ethan initially voted guilty but because one juror voted not guilty, they started talking about the whole thing and Ethan doubts his guilt so he votes not guilty while the rest of the jury think he's letting his relationship with Jerome cloud his judgment. So they keep on talking and it gets more heated.

Ethan takes in a young Army deserter who saved George's life, unaware a woman wants to kill him.

Amelia trusts a newcomer whose plans for the town's future turn out to be a swindle.

A mine's closure results in a mass exodus from Paradise, forcing Ethan to choose between a new job and Amelia.