The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), to a mission of"justice", which involves avenging her father's departure. She recruits a tough older marshal,"Rooster" Cogburn (John Wayne), because he's"self indulgent", and also a reputation of getting the job done. The two have been connected by a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who is searching for exactly the exact identical man (Jeff Corey) to get a separate murder at Texas. Their odyssey takes them out of Fort Smith, Arkansas, deep in to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) to locate their man.