In 1892, Captain Joseph J. Blocker, a seasoned and embittered U.S. Army officer, is given one final assignment before his retirement: he must escort the dying Cheyenne war chief, Yellow Hawk, and his family back to their tribal lands in Montana. Yellow Hawk, who is imprisoned in New Mexico for past battles against the U.S. government, has been granted a compassionate release by the President due to his terminal cancer. Reluctantly, Blocker assembles a small contingent of soldiers to accompany him on this perilous journey through hostile territory. The journey is fraught with tension and distrust due to Blocker's deep-seated hatred for Native Americans, a result of years of brutal warfare.

Along the path, the group encounters Rosalie Quaid, a grief-stricken woman who has lost her entire family to a brutal Comanche attack. Despite his prejudices, Blocker is compelled by his own moral code to bring Rosalie under his party's protection. The combined group encounters various external threats that begin to erode their mutual animosities, forcing them to rely on each other for survival. As they travel across the treacherous landscape, dealing with bandits, hostile tribes, and the mercilessness of nature, the group is confronted with the harsh realities and the moral complexities of frontier justice and warfare.