Broken Arrow

Tom Jeffords discovers a wounded 14-year-old Apache boy with buckshot wounds. He tends to the boy, gives him water, and remains at his side as the injuries heal. The boy initially attacks Jeffords, but Jeffords responds with calm care, earning the boy's trust. This act begins a fragile bond between them.

The boy's people arrive with suspicion and hostility. The boy speaks to his tribe, convincing them that Jeffords is a friend who helped him. The Apaches free Jeffords, recognizing his mercy.

Apache warriors arrive, gag and tie Jeffords to a tree. He watches helplessly as a group of gold prospectors is attacked and the survivors are tortured by the warriors. The war party warns him not to enter Apache territory again.

Back in Tucson, Jeffords corrects a prospector's exaggerated account of the attack. Ben Slade does not understand why Jeffords did not kill the Apache boy. Jeffords defends his choice as a matter of mercy and justice.

Jeffords declines the army's request to scout Apache territory and instead begins learning Apache language and customs from an Indian guide among the townspeople. He plans to approach Cochise's stronghold on behalf of his friend Milt, who runs the town mail service.

He enters the Apache stronghold and talks with Cochise; Cochise agrees to let the mail couriers through. The two men realize their underlying morality is similar, and Cochise is impressed by Jeffords' bravery and willingness to learn the language. Jeffords meets Sonseeahray, an Apache squaw, and begins to fall in love.

Despite the agreement, Apache attacks an army wagon train, killing the survivors. Townspeople threaten to lynch Jeffords as a traitor for working with their enemies, until General Oliver Otis Howard arrives to save him and recruits him to negotiate a broader peace with Cochise.

Jeffords and Cochise devise a peace treaty, hoping to bring lasting peace. However, a faction led by Geronimo opposes the plan and departs from the stronghold. The attempt at a broader peace becomes fragile as dissent grows.

Renegades ambush a stagecoach traveling through the canyon. Jeffords seeks Cochise's aid, and the Apaches come to the rescue, helping to prevent a disaster and restoring a sense of balance to the tenuous peace.

Jeffords and Sonseeahray marry in an Apache ceremony, sealing their bond across cultural lines. The union symbolizes the possibility of lasting peace through shared love and understanding.

Slade's son visits Jeffords and Cochise to report two horses stolen by Cochise's people. Cochise doubts the story, given his enmity with Slade, and they accompany the boy up the canyon to investigate. Suspicion and tension mount as motives become clearer.

They are ambushed by Slade and a gang from Tucson; Jeffords is shot and badly wounded, and Sonseeahray is killed. Cochise fights back, killing most of the attackers, including Slade, but the price is devastating.

Cochise forbids Jeffords to retaliate, arguing that peace must be maintained at all costs. General Howard arrives with some townsfolk and informs them that the surviving attackers will be executed for their crime, offering condolences for the loss of Sonseeahray.

Jeffords rides off with the belief that Sonseeahray's death has helped secure a lasting peace between the two peoples. He carries her memory with him as he looks toward a future where compromise and empathy guide relations.