A Native American man experiences a disturbing vision that sets him down an illuminating path of self-discovery in this adaptation of the novel by author James Welch. Regaining consciousness battered and bloodied in a ditch in the plains of Montana, Virgil First Raise (Chaske Spencer) struggles to shake off a bad hangover when he looks down at his feet, and sees the frozen corpse of his late father, who died a decade ago. Upon finding his way back home to the Reservation, Virgil discovers that his wife has vanished along with his rifle, and ventures into town to find her. In the course of Virgil's drunken, surreal journey, he encounters intrigue in the form of an enigmatic stranger known as The Airplane Man and his captivating associate Malvina, and danger when confronted with a pair of malevolent Men in Suits. Later, confronted by troubling memories of the past including visions of his estranged brother Mose, Virgil ventures into the mountains in search of a wise old blind man named Yellow Calf. There, amidst the peace and stillness of nature, Yellow Calf teaches Virgil that his only hope for finding peace and the truth about his clouded origins is to face his turbulent past, rather than fleeing from it.