 Josey Wales is a peaceful farmer in the days near the end of the Civil War. After his home is burned and his family murdered, he hardens into a human bullet - dedicated to destroying the renegades who took his "life." He joins a band of unreconstructed rebel guerilla fighters who continue to fight the Union - even after the official surrender of the Confederacy - an action which makes them, legally, outlaws. Josey is driven by vengeance, but after a while, that s not enough. Back before his own personal Holocaust, he had been a builder - of home, family, farm, and life. And no matter how much ice he s wrapped himself in, down inside there s still the soul of a living man. While Wales exists, he s pulled by this hidden yearning to Live. Each day offers him chances to remember, to assuage his yearning, to begin again. And the movie shows us how Josey Wales - a mere seeker of vengeance - learns to live again, rededicated to the values he chose so long ago.