Paradise starred Lee Horsley as Cord, a professional gunfighter who was forced to take custody of the four children of his sister, a St. Louis singer who was dying and unable to make any other arrangements for their care. Cord realized that his profession was unsuitable to child rearing and decided to change, renting a farm from Amelia Lawson, who also owned the local bank in the small town of Paradise, California. Ethan tried to live a peaceful life, but was constantly haunted by his violent past and frequently called upon by the townspeople to defend them from lawlessness. Cord was close friends with John Taylor, a Native American medicine man, who often provided him with wise counsel and insights into human nature.