In a small hospital tent is where the story begins. When John Dunbar is waiting for the doctors to amputate his leg. All of a sudden he decides to rejoin his regiment and break a long standing stale mate by riding to his death across enemy lines. It doesn't go quit as planned, however and he ends up being the hero the turned the battle around. As a reward, he is given the use of the best doctor and an unlimited choice of duty. .
John Dunbar's choice is to go west to the Indian frontier. Unfortunately his superior officer at his eventual posting, Major Fambrough, is mad. Just before his suicide the Major sends Dunbar out to a new base right in the frontier. When he get's there, the camp is deserted and unknown to Dunbar, the Major has not filed his final order, meaning that no one knows the whereabouts of Dunbar. .
Only a little disturbed, Dunbar decides to clean up the camp and wait for reinforcements. It isn't long before the local Indians turn up to make his life more interesting. Over the course of time he is drawn more and more into their community. Eventually he is forced to take the side of the Indians over that of his fellow soldiers. A situation, which leads to his arrest. The only other major factor in the film is his romance with a white woman who has been raised in the tribe since she was a young girl. She is responsible in a small part for Dunbar switching sides. .
Standing Fists was the woman's name who Dunbar fell in love with. She knew the English language from years before, but she did not know how to speak it very well. As she was learning how to pronounce and speak English, Dunbar was learning how to speak their native language. Her former husband had died in a war, and when Dunbar became apart of this tribe she was mourning for her former husband. Eventually the tribe came to know how Dunbar and Standing Fists felt for each other and they discontinued her mourning.