| Director | Scott Cooper |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western film, adventure film, drama film |
| Runtime | 127 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | C$39 million |
| Box office | $35.7 million |
In the New Mexico Territory in 1892, 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.S. 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 1876, but accepts under the threat of court-martial and loss of his pension. Blocker sets out for Montana accompanied by his old friend, First Sergeant Thomas Metz, long-time aide Corporal Woodson, West Point newcomer Lieutenant Kidder, and a young private, Dejardin.
Blocker challenges Yellow Hawk to a knife fight, but he refuses. The group comes across the destroyed Quaid house, with a traumatized Rosalee sitting amongst the corpses of her family. 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 that killed the Quaids, 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, the Comanche group is discovered dead, 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. Two members of the fort, Corporal Thomas and Sergeant Malloy, join Blocker's company to oversee Wills, who chastises Blocker and the Natives.
Near camp, the chief's daughter-in-law (Black Hawk's wife) Elk Woman, the chief's daughter Living 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. Meanwhile, Wills feigns illness, allowing him to kill Kidder and escape. Blocker is awakened by Wills killing Kidder and wounds Wills as he escapes. Metz chases after him against Blocker's orders. The next day, the group finds that Metz killed Wills before dying by suicide. A devastated Blocker is consoled by Rosalee. They travel farther north as Yellow Hawk's condition continues to deteriorate. Blocker makes peace with the chief for the hardships they have inflicted upon one another over the years.
Yellow Hawk dies just as the group arrives at the tribal lands in Montana, where he is buried. As Blocker and others prepare to leave, a rancher and his three sons arrive and declare that they own the land, and order Blocker and the rest of the group to leave with the chief's body. Blocker informs them of the president's orders, only to be threatened at gunpoint. Blocker refuses, and a shootout ensues. Black Hawk, Living Woman, Elk Woman, and Corporal Thomas are killed and buried next to the chief.
Rosalee decides to take Black Hawk's orphan son, Little Bear, with her to Chicago. At the train station, the two thank and bid an emotional farewell to Blocker. He hands Little Bear a gift - his copy of Julius Caesar's The Gallic War. As the train departs, Blocker decides to step aboard.