Plot

A recently-returned Vietnam POW loses his family and his right hand during a violent home invasion, and seeks retribution against those responsible.

Former POW, Major Charles Rane, comes back from the Vietnam war and is given a number of gifts from his hometown because he is a war hero. Some greedy thugs decide that they want to steal a number of silver dollars from him. In the process they also manage to kill his wife and son and destroy his hand. The Major wants revenge so he enlists the help of his war buddy Johnny to meet the thugs in a final showdown.—Josh Pasnak <chainsaw@intouch.bc.ca>

After spending seven years as a POW in Hanoi, Major Rane returns home but finds his home very different from the one he left. Rane realizes that his son does not remember him and his wife admits to him that she has become engaged to another man and has no plans to break it off. Rane stoically accepts this and greeted warmly by the townspeople and he is presented with a red Cadillac and 2,555 silver dollars which attracts the attention of four border outlaws.—Fella_shibby@yahoo.com

In 1973, at a San Antonio, Texas, airport, a crowd celebrates the homecoming of Vietnam prisoners of war, Major Charles "Charlie" Rane (William Devene), Sergeant Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), and their two colleagues. After Charlie reunites with his wife, Candy (Cassie Yates), and his son, Mark (Jordan Geler), he is escorted home by a police officer named Cliff (Lawrason Driscoll).

That evening, Charlie inspects a shotgun given him by Mark and realizes his son does not remember him. Candy confesses that she had an affair with Cliff and has accepted his proposal of marriage. Finding makeshift quarters in a garden shed, Charlie is disturbed by flashbacks of his imprisonment, and when he complains of insomnia to Air Force psychiatrist Dr. Maxwell (Dabney Coleman), he vows to retain custody of Mark.

At another celebration of his return, Charlie is given a Cadillac convertible and "Texas Belle" Linda Forchet (Linda Haynes) presents Charlie with a box of $2,555 in silver dollars from a local department store, each coin representing a day of his imprisonment. That evening, Cliff visits Charlie in the shed with a bottle of whiskey, hoping to resolve their predicament, and Charlie demonstrates a method of torture used by his captors, explaining that he learned to love their abuse.

One day, Linda Forchet spots Charlie at a gas station and invites him for a drink at the bar where she works. Although he accepts, he quickly leaves to attend Mark's baseball game, but the boy is indifferent to his presence.

Arriving home, Charlie is held at gunpoint by a band of four outlaws, headed by a nameless Texan (James Best), who demand his silver dollars. Remaining silent, Charlie has flashbacks of prison and is unresponsive when the Texan's henchman, Automatic Slim (Luke Askew), mangles his hand in the kitchen sink garbage disposal. When Candy and Mark return home, they are taken captive also by the other two thugs, T-Bird (Charles Escamilla) and Melio (Pete Ortega). Mark discloses the location of the box to save his father. However, as the outlaws leave with the money, revealing that they are on their way to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Automatic Slim shoots Charlie, Candy and Mark so as not to leave any witnesses. Candy and Mark are both dead, but Charlie is revealed to be alive.

Convalescing in a hospital, Charlie is visited by Linda and Johnny and is outfitted with a prosthetic arm. Intent on revenge, Cliff begs Charlie for information about the assailants, but Charlie claims he is unable to remember. Returning home, Charlie sharpens the hook on his prosthetic arm, saws off the barrel of the shotgun Mark gave him, and packs a suitcase with ammunition. He heads to Mexico but stops on the way to pick up Linda.

Across the border in Nuevo Laredo, Charlie goes to a bar and instructs Linda to ask for Fat Ed. A bar patron named Lopez (James Victor) leads Linda into the kitchen, claiming to know the man, but when he attempts to assault her, Charlie comes to her rescue and pins Lopez's hand to a table with his hook. Holding Lopez at gunpoint with his good hand, Charlie learns that Lopez lied about knowing Fat Ed. When Charlie inquires about the Texan and his henchmen, Lopez advises him to look for Billy Sanchez in Acuña, Mexico. As Linda and Charlie drive away, Linda is enraged to learn that her companion is going after Candy and Mark's murderers and scolds him for lying to the San Antonio police.

Back in Texas, Cliff discovers the sawed off shotgun barrel in Charlie's shed and asks his colleague to locate him without informing the police department. Charlie's Cadillac is soon spotted and Cliff rushes to Mexico.

Meanwhile, at an Acuña bar, Linda finds Billy Sanchez, who reports that Fat Ed is in El Paso. When Charlie joins Linda, he is confronted by Automatic Slim and a fight ensues. After stabbing Slim in the crotch with his hook, Charlie escapes with Linda. Although the couple fights, they spend an intimate evening together in the back seat of the Cadillac.

In the morning, Linda demonstrates her shooting skills, explaining that her father is in the Army, and Charlie shows her his stockpile of weapons in the trunk. At an El Paso hotel, Linda suggests that Charlie forget his vendetta and they run away together, but he is unresponsive.

Meanwhile, Cliff arrives at the bar where Charlie confronted Slim, and a boy who witnessed the fight leads him to Lopez. After demanding money, Lopez runs away. Giving chase, Cliff is guided to an abandoned building where a gunfight ensues with Slim and his henchmen. Cliff is shot dead.

Back at the El Paso hotel, Charlie dresses in his Major's uniform and places a stack of cash next to the bed before he leaves. After staking out the Texan and his gang at a brothel in Juarez, Mexico, Charlie visits Johnny at his El Paso home and asks for help. Dressed in uniform, Johnny excuses himself from a family dinner and returns to Juarez with Charlie.

Inside the brothel, Johnny picks up an American prostitute and follows her to a room while Charlie climbs up the fire escape with his shotgun. After hearing a signal from Charlie, Johnny grabs his gun and Charlie shoots the Texan dead in an adjoining room, unleashing a gun battle in the brothel. From behind the bar, Slim beckons the men downstairs, and they are barraged with bullets as they descend and are all killed including T-Bird and Melio. Although Charlie is hit in the stomach, he shoots a gun out of Slim's hand and kills the murderer with his last two bullets. Helping Johnny to his feet, Charlie tells his friend that the battle is over and they both stagger out of the brothel together.