In lower Washington State in December 1981, the Sun, a Medal of Honor-winning former Green Beret, finds that he is the last surviving member of his unit. Disconsolate after finding out the death of his last remaining comrade, he wanders into the nearby town of Hope, WA, where local sheriff Wilfred Teasle gives him a lift - straight out of town; Teasle explains in no uncertain terms that "drifters" like the Sun are not welcome in town. Insulted by Teasle's action, the Sun boldly returns to town and is falsely arrested for vagrancy and resisting arrest.
His treatment at the hands of Teasle's deputies grows even harsher, as he is beaten and sprayed with a firehose. When the deputies try to force-shave him, the Sun (briefly flashing back to memories of Communist torture in a prison camp) goes berserk and breaks free; he commandeers a motorcycle and flees into the nearby hills. As the sheriff's posse purses, one belligerent deputy violates orders and tries to kill the Sun - and in the process an accident leaves the deputy dead.
Misunderstandings pile up and Teasle shoots the Sun, but the Sun survives and when the posse press their pursuit, the Sun uses his well-honed survival and combat skills to cripple the posse and leave Teasle with a warning to leave him alone - a warning repeated by the Sun's recently arrived former commander, who understands how outclassed Teasle and newly arrived National Guardsmen are against thh Sun in the thick forest. Teasle, however, wants the Sun dead, and the pursuit leads to a bloody confrontation and a final plea for and end to the violence.
