In the series premiere of this medical drama set in a 1900s New York City hospital, accomplished Dr. John W. Thackery is named chief surgeon and is pressured by a major benefactor to hire a black doctor as his top assistant.

Thackery weighs performing surgery on a former flame, and orders Gallinger and Chickering to experiment on pigs. Barrow goes the extra yard to square a debt. After a bad day at work, Edwards takes out his frustrations at a local bar. Robertson is relieved when her pleas about treating a patient with typhoid fever are finally heard.

During surgery, Thackery's hand is forced by Algernon, which irks Gallinger. A recovering Abigail regrets her involvement with Thackery and Sister Harriet and Cleary make a couple of deals. Meanwhile, Bertie receives a scolding from his physician father who is unhappy with his son's career path and Lucy becomes privy to Thackery's secrets.

Barrow can alleviate a debt if he treats one of Collier's wounded men and also urges Capt. Robertson to buy one of Thomas Edison's new inventions. Meanwhile, Algernon tries a new approach to hernia surgery, the health of Everett and Eleanor's baby worsens, and Sister Harriet and Cleary head to Chinatown.