The film opens as Union soldiers destroy the home and family of Missouri farmer Josey Wales (Eastwood). He joins up with Confederate soldiers to get his revenge, and, after years of battle, refuses to surrender to Terrill (McKinney), the man responsible for his family's death. He rescues Jamie (Bottoms), a wounded young rebel, from the Union soldiers, who send Terrill and the reluctant Fletcher (Vernon) after them. Josey and Jamie next pick up two Cherokees (George and Keams), a stray dog, and, after rescuing them from Comanches, an elderly woman (Trueman) and her granddaughter (Locke). They form an unlikely bunch as they settle down at an old farm house in Texas, where Josey decides that he will stop running and finally face his hunters.

Some facts about  the movie Josie Wales:

• Wales's son in the opening scene is played by 7-year old Kyle Eastwood
• The film is based on the novel "Gone To Texas" by Forrest Carter
• Sheb Wooley, a Rawhide veteran, appears in a small part as one of the men captured by the Indians