Joe, a transgender boy, accompanies his father Troy on a journey across the Montana wilderness on their way to Canada.

Sally meanwhile pushes traditional gender ideals on Joe, making him wear dresses, like the color pink, and dissuades his fascination with cowboys.

When Troy informs Sally, she refuses to accept it and tells Joe to follow God's path.

Troy aggressively yells at him for his comments and in the heat of the moment pushes Joe's uncle down a flight of stairs.

After the two make it back to shore Troy realizes he lost the prescription drugs he had been taking, causing him to go through withdrawal.

Some time later, Joe lives with a more accepting Sally, who lets him wear traditionally-male clothing and refers to him using his preferred pronouns.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Cowboys explores emotionally charged themes with a steady hand, highlighting the humanity of its characters in a story of fraught family dynamics and gender identity.