 While Ann Wilson and her Uncle Fred are en route to her boyfriend Joe s birthday party, Fred suffers a sudden stroke and is rendered unconscious. A man claiming to be a Good Samaritan stops to help, only to rape and kill Ann. Joe is devastated and vows to track down the killer. While Fred is eventually moved to the Ponderosa to recover (and for his protection against anyone who might want to silence him), Joe undermines Deputy Clem Foster s investigation. Meanwhile, the killer - a munitions expert named William Poole - gets a job on the Ponderosa, since his expertise with a new substance called nitroglycerin can help clear old tree stumps off the ranch. Poole, who is staying with a widowed neighbor named Mrs. Gibson, tries to get at Uncle Fred, but Joe, who has been keeping a bedside vigil, stops him at every turn. Eventually, Joe sees Uncle Fred s hand move and begins questioning him. Fred is only able to scrawl a barely legible message before he goes numb, and suffers a subsequent (and ultimately fatal) stroke. Before Fred dies, Joe manages to figure out the note had something to do with "New Orleans Woman." Joe visits Mrs. Gibson, who produces sheet music to the song. After Joe leaves, Poole returns and Mrs. Gibson eventually realizes that he killed Ann. Poole, knowing he can be identified, kills Mrs. Gibson. Joe later hears an explosion coming from Mrs. Gibson s house and, knowing that Poole had finished his work and was supposed to be on his way, returns to investigate. Upon arrival, he sees Poole carrying Mrs. Gibson s burned corpse into the house, but Joe s suspicions that the explosion was no accident is confirmed when he sees the ripped up sheet music, pieces it back together and fingers Poole as Ann s killer. Poole, who reveals himself as a misogynist, threatens to blow the Ponderosa off the map and throws a vial at Joe, but Joe kills the villain in self-defense.