While crossing Cheyenne territory en route to Fort Reunion, a group of cavalry officers is brutally attacked by Indians. Afterward, the only survivors are a naïve private named Honus Gant (Peter Strauss) and a betrothed woman called Cresta (Candice Bergen) who previously lived among the Indians. As the two try to finish their journey alone, Honus finds himself increasingly attracted to Cresta, and yet simultaneously repelled by her sympathy for the Native American tribes.