It follows a U. Army cavalry officer in who must escort a Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their home in Montana. The film had its world premiere on September 2, , at the Telluride Film Festival. It had a limited release in the United States by Entertainment Studios beginning December 22, , before going wide on January 26, In the New Mexico Territory in , settler Rosalee Quaid and her family are attacked by a Comanche war party, who kill her husband and three children.
Rosalee escapes by hiding under a rock outcrop. At Fort Berringer, soon-to-retire U. Army Captain Joseph Blocker is ordered by President Harrison to escort the cancer-stricken Cheyenne war chief Yellow Hawk and four members of his family back to their tribal lands in Montana. Blocker initially refuses, as Yellow Hawk and he are old enemies from the Great Sioux War of , but accepts under the threat of court-martial and loss of his pension.
Blocker challenges Yellow Hawk to a knife fight, but he refuses. The group comes across the destroyed Quaid house and Rosalee's dead husband. They find a traumatized Rosalee and her deceased children. After some convincing, Rosalee agrees to join the company until their next stop-over in Fort Winslow, Colorado. They are soon ambushed by the Comanche, who kill Dejardin and seriously injure Woodson before being forced to retreat.
After the attack, Yellow Hawk persuades Blocker to unchain his family and him so they can help. The following day, three dead Comanches are discovered, and Blocker correctly deduces that Yellow Hawk and his son Black Hawk snuck out of camp and killed them overnight. At Fort Winslow, the group drops off the wounded Woodson, and Blocker arranges for Rosalee to stay with the fort's commander, but she chooses to remain with the group.
Blocker is asked to bring disgraced Sergeant Philip Wills to be hanged for having deserted from Fort Pierce and murdered a Native family. Near camp, the chief's daughter-in-law Elk Woman and Rosalee are abducted and raped by three fur traders. The group hunts down and kills the culprits. Malloy is killed in the fight. The next night, Metz walks into a downpour and begins to express guilt for his past actions against the Natives, leaving Blocker concerned. He asks for mercy from Chief Yellow Hawk before returning to his tent.
