The resonant substructure of $B_s^0 rightarrow bar{D}^0 K^- pi^+$ decays is studied with the Dalitz plot analysis technique. The study is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3.0,{rm fb}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data recorded by LHCb. A structure at $m(bar{D}^0 K^-) approx 2.86 {rm GeV}/c^2$ is found to be an admixture of spin-1 and spin-3 resonances. The masses and widths of these states and of the $D^*_{s2}(2573)^-$ meson are measured, as are the complex amplitudes and fit fractions for all the $bar{D}^0 K^-$ and $K^-pi^+$ components included in the amplitude model. In addition, the $D^*_{s2}(2573)^-$ resonance is confirmed to be spin-2.