MacGyver and Maria Romburg return home from a one-week vacation, and she tells him that a university has offered her a position. She's considering the offer since it would give her more free time to be together with MacGyver. When she brings up the possibility of a family, MacGyver gets nervous at the idea of commitment, admitting it's not an easy thing for him to talk about. They go inside and discover Lieutenant Kate Murphy, dressed as a prostitute for undercover work. She's also brought along Jenny Reiner from the Challengers Club, insisting she needs a bed to sty in since the Club is full. Jenny comes down from the shower wearing nothing but MacGyver's hockey shirt. The situation is initially awkward but the women soon bond and discuss MacGyver's commitment issues, and men in general. MacGyver gives up trying to defend himself and goes upstairs to doze off in front of the TV, which is showing a Western...
Civil War veteran MacGyver is helping out his injured friend Bear, the local blacksmith, by making up a windmill to power his bellows. MacGyver needs a spare wagon to pick up supplies at Last Chance Gulch, but Bear explains that Wilt and Milt Bozer borrowed the last one. The brothers recently struck it rich finding gold and made arrangements with saloon owner Kate Murphy to bring in mail-order brides. The stagecoach arrives and Bear and MacGyver go outside to greet it. The two women, Maria and Jenny, get out and the Bozers arrive to greet them. They're eager to get married and Kate tells them to slow down. When they refuse, MacGyver and Bear quickly subdue, but the Bozers warn Kate that they've paid in advance and they either want their brides or their money back.
When it's clear that Maria and Jenny are unwilling, Kate decides to get them out of the territory but the nearest train station is at Last Chance Gulch. MacGyver agrees to escort them. A local informant, News, overhears the conversation and rides out to Hole-in-The Wall, where Kid Curry, Billy the Kid, Sundance, and Jesse James are hiding out with other outlaws. Kid Curry and Kate have a history together and Kid Curry wants the gold back that Kate stole from him to set up her saloon. When one of the other outlaws taunts Kid Curry about how MacGyver has his women and doesn't even carry a gun, Kid Curry guns him down and then rides out with Sundance to track Kate down.
MacGyver and the women are on the road when they run into Dr. Destiny, a snake-oil salesman who looks a lot like Pete Thornton. MacGyver's reputation precedes him and Dr. Destiny offers Maria a free fortunetelling. He reads her palm and says that she's fleeing a dark secret in her past, and will find a strong champion to defend her from coming danger. Dr. Destiny gives MacGyver a bottle of iron tonic and says that the women's emotional wounds will only heal if they trust each other.
The Bozers try to track down the women on their own but run into Kid Curry and his gang. News tells Kid Curry about the Bozers' gold mine and the outlaw forces the Bozers to ride along with them to find the women.
MacGyver and the women stop on the road and Maria goes to take a bath in a nearby stream. MacGyver comes by and shyly averts his eyes. Maria flirts with him until MacGyver brings Dr. Destiny's comment about her dark past. She brushes off the comment, saying she doesn't want to remember the past. They hear gunshots and MacGyver goes to investigate. Kid Curry and the others have captured Jenny and Kate and quickly capture MacGyver as well. Kate claims that she shipped the gold ahead and only wants to escape Kid Curry, but he refuses to let her go. They find a wanted poster for Maria accusing her of murder and spot her riding away on a stolen horse. When Kid Curry demands the gold that Kate took, MacGyver distracts him momentarily by mentioning the Bozers' gold.
Kid Curry decides to get the Bozers' gold and takes them along with Kate and Jenny. He strings up MacGyver from a tree and let him balance atop a creaky signpost. They ride off, figuring the signpost will soon break and leave MacGyver to strangle. With time running out, MacGyver pulls his belt buckle around to the back and uses it to cut his hands free of the ropes. The signpost breaks just as he grabs the rope to support himself. Once he's free, he heads down the road to Hole-in-the-Wall and meets Maria. She explains that in Germany, her brother-in-law attacked her and Maria's sister came home and killed him to save Maria. Rather than let her sister take the blame, Maria took credit for the murder and then fled. MacGyver accepts her story and they head for the hideout.
Kid Curry has put Jenny and Kate to work serving drinks and cleaning the place. They force the Bozers to reveal where there gold is and Kid Curry and Sundance lock up the Bozers in a shed and ride off to get the gold. Since nobody else knows them, MacGyver and Maria go in and claim that Jenny has a contagious and highly lethal social disease. Jenny fakes an illness and MacGyver almost gets the remaining outlaws to strip and take a bath, until News arrives and captures him.
The outlaws lock up MacGyver with the Bozers, who admit that they don't actually have a gold mine. They found a prospector mauled by a bear and took his gold, hoping to win the townspeople's respect. They ask for the chance to atone for their sins and MacGyver cuts them free. Using a rifle barrel, MacGyver blows a rock at a nearby wagon to draw the guard's attention. He then uses a branding iron to slip the bar on the opposite of the door and knocks the guard out. MacGyver sends the Bozers to the cabins to rescue Kate and Jenny while he grabs some pinecones.
In the cabin, Milt convinces the outlaws to come out with him while Milt warns the women that MacGyver is planning an escape. MacGyver strings a rope around the cabin's porch supports and ties it to a horse. Kid Curry and Sundance return and MacGyver hides on the roof while they go inside to force the Bozers to tell them where the gold really is. Once they're inside, MacGyver soaks the pinecone chips in Dr. Destiny's iron tonic and drops them down the chimney. They go off like gunshots, and MacGyver swings a rock through the window. Kid Curry and the others assume they're under attack and fire at the window, while the Bozers get the women out and bar the door behind them. They get on the wagon and ride off while Maria gets to the horse. As the outlaws break down the door, MacGyver and Maria ride off, pulling down the porch behind them and burying Kid Curry and his men under a pile of wood.
Later, Kate, Jenny, and Maria prepare to head for California together. Kate hid all of the gold in a secret compartment in the wagon. She gives the Bozers' gold back to them but they let her keep it to make a new start for herself and the others. As the women give MacGyver goodbye kisses, he finally asks Maria to stay with him. The two of them embrace as Jenny and Kate depart on the train.
MacGyver wakes up to find Maria kissing him. She tells him that Pete has a new assignment for her in Rio, and she'd plans to keep working for the Foundation for the excitement, rather than take the university job. When MacGyver suggests that he's ready to commit, Maria assures him they'll have plenty of time to talk about it when she gets back.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 10, 2019