In Montana, the Hayden name is law. It carries an aura of privilege and power that doesn't stop at the Montana border. When the Hayden boys, Wesley and Frank, take an ill-fated hunting trip, they learn the implications of the Hayden name, even outside the jurisdiction and on the wrong side of the law.

In a series of episodes dating from 1899, Watson invites us to get to know the Hayden family intimately. From the story of patriarch Julian Hayden as he carves a new life out of the Montana wilderness, to the struggles of Gail Hayden, Sheriff Wesley Hayden's spirited wife and moral compass, we learn the stories behind the story of Montana 1948.