In the 1930s, lovesick Texan Dove Linkhorn (Laurence Harvey) hits the road to search for his long-lost sweetheart, Hallie Gerard (Capucine). He meets free-spirited Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda) along the way, and she joins him on his trip to New Orleans, where the two find Hallie working at a brothel. When Dove tries to take Hallie away with him, he is confronted by the brothel's possessive madam, Jo Courtney (Barbara Stanwyck), who is unwilling to give up her favorite employee without a fight.