On the unconvincing grounds that he is one-fourth Indian, FBI agent Ray Levoi (Val Kilmer) is dispatched from Washington D.C. to help veteran agent "Cooch" Coutelle (Sam Shepard) solve the murder of an Oglala Sioux in the badlands of South Dakota. Intentionally kept in the dark by Cooch, on his own Ray turns up troubling evidence that points to a severe abuse of authority on the Pine Ridge reservation, and the likelihood that Cooch's prime suspect, Jimmy Looks Twice (activist and poet John Trudell), may be the victim of a setup. The sinister forces of pro-government tribal president Jack Milton (Fred Ward) are countered by tenacious tribal police officer Walter Crow Horse (Graham Greene), who points Ray in the right direction. But for Ray to cross that line will require not just an ironclad case, but no less than a spiritual reawakening.