Rising bull riding star Ely Braxton (Marcus Thomas) is recovering from injuries that almost took his life.

Against the wishes of his mother Rose Braxton (Melinda Dillon) and girlfriend Connie (Molly Ringwald), Ely starts riding bulls again to achieve his dream of becoming a champion bull rider like his estranged father, Reid Braxton (Pete Postlethwaite).

Ely's older brother, Hank (Kiefer Sutherland), is a bull rider-turned-bullfighter and stock contractor, and the two use each other to better their skills and work together at their family ranch in Santa Maria, California.

As Ely's career becomes highly successful, he starts a relationship with Celia Jones (Daryl Hannah), who is a barrel racer and Hank's love interest.

When the Braxton ranch hand and family friend Joe (Russell Means) brings Zapata back to the Braxton ranch, Rose grabs a shotgun and almost shoots Zapata in her grief over Hank's death, but Joe and Ely talk her down.