At the breaking of the Civil War the garrison of Fort Laramie splits between the sympathezers of the two different factions, but when the fort is attacked by the Sioux, they unite their forces to fight them.

In 1825 an English aristocrat is captured by Indians. He lives with them and begins to understand/accept their lifestyles. Eventually he is accepted as part of the tribe and becomes their leader.

The film is set in the fictional Utah community of Santa Ynez, which is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town’s Sheriff (John Marley), it becomes the job of Captain Wade Parent (James Brolin) to stop the murderous driver.

While crossing the desert, a frontier scout, Jess Remsberg (Garner), rescues Ellen Grange (Andersson) from a pursuing band of Apaches, and returns her to her husband, Willard Grange (Weaver). He is contracted to act as a scout for an Army cavalry unit. Willard, Ellen, and her infant son are along for the ride, as is horse trader Toller (Poitier), a veteran of the 10th Cavalry (the “Buffalo Soldiers”). The party is trapped in a canyon by Chata, an Apache chief and grandfather of Ellen’s baby. Willard is captured and tortured. Jess sneaks away and brings reinforcements just in time to save the day. Jess learns that the man he has been hunting is none other than Willard Grange.