When Van Walcott, the local store owner, was over at the stage office, he came back to catch a man, Homer Tidsdale, red-handed stealing a couple of potatoes. Homer admits to it, and Matt can see that the man is starving. He's genuinely sorry for his sin, but Walcott is unrelenting in his quest for justice. Coincidentally, there's a new circuit court judge coming to Dodge City, and when he arrives, Matt finds that he dispenses a most unusual brand of justice.