After serving time for avenging the murder of Cat Dancing, his Native American wife, Jay Grobart (Burt Reynolds), reluctantly takes part in a train robbery in the hopes of using his share of the loot to make a better life for his two children. When his accomplices kidnap society woman Catherine Crocker (Sarah Miles), who is on the run from her violent husband (George Hamilton), Grobart's inner decency protects her from harm as they flee from the bounty hunter (Lee J. Cobb) chasing them.