In 1919, just after the First World War, a loosely knit band of motorcyclists returning from Europe travels across the United States in search of fortunes in California. The group includes five men—Archibald 'Whizzer' Overton, Keith Carradine; Golly, Mike Combs; Jimbang, Scott Glenn; Chupo, Robert Walker Jr.; and Gibson 'Giblets' Meredith, Gary Busey—and one woman, China, Doria Cook-Nelson. Their trek leads them to a rural Nebraska town called Bingo, where a public race with the local hot rodder Billy triggers a tense reaction and a disputed result that sends the bikers fleeing into the open countryside.
Seeking shelter, the bikers find refuge on a remote farm owned by two sisters, Acacia, Hilarie Thompson, and Oriole, Cristina Raines. The sisters share a history steeped in their father’s shamanic Native American heritage, a legacy that shapes how they respond to strangers. Oriole proves to be stern and cautious, agreeing to let the group spend the night in the barn, while Acacia’s warmer curiosity grows toward one of the travelers, Golly. The peace of the night is shattered when Giblets tries to assault Acacia; Oriole responds with a hex, and in a terrifying twist, Giblets is attacked outside by an owl that rips into his eyes, ending his life in a gruesome, symbolic display.
The next day brings a quiet, sorrowful ritual as the strangers bury Giblets under the sisters’ watch. Acacia and Golly’s bond deepens into something tender, a contrast to Whizzer’s more guarded, frenetic energy. Whizzer, trying to help Oriole loosen up, teaches her how to ride a motorcycle, a fatal crash reminding both women of the fragility behind bravado and closely held secrets. As romantic tension between Whizzer and Oriole grows, China reveals a painful truth: Whizzer is not a real veteran at all but an ex-mechanic from Kansas City who has crafted a life of tall tales around his exploits.
Tensions escalate when the women fight after Oriole takes offense at China’s stance. In a darker moment, Oriole uses a ritual to bind China to the farm’s haunted atmosphere—placing strands of China’s hair in the mouth of a toad and sewing its mouth shut, turning the animal into a grim effigy. China attempts to find respite at a nearby swimming hole, where she falls asleep by the water’s edge and experiences a nightmare in which vermin swarm and her own body appears hanging from a tree. The locals arrive once more, and Oriole denies any knowledge of the others’ whereabouts, steering the search away from the farm. When the group finally uncovers China’s absence, the mood shifts to fear and accusation.
The tension erupts when Jimbang tries to shoot Oriole in a paranoid outburst, but the gun misfires and instead kills him, a sudden violence that steels the diverging paths of the travelers. Whizzer wants to press on toward California, but the search for Golly—who has vanished with Acacia—keeps them anchored at the farm. In a brutal confrontation that unfolds in the barn, Chupo, under Acacia’s spell, attacks Whizzer; he pleads for mercy, but the struggle ends with Whizzer fatally slashing Chupo with a sickle, a moment watched from the shadows by Oriole. That same night, Oriole and Whizzer give in to a dangerous, charged moment and have sex in the barn.
Come morning, Acacia returns to the house and pleads with Oriole to release China, who remains hidden somewhere on the property. Oriole flees back to the swimming hole and crushes the toad, effectively killing China, who has been kept secret in the house. The sisters’ bond fractures: Acacia renounces Oriole, rejecting the use of their father’s shamanic powers for malevolent ends. The revelation of Oriole’s true power unsettles the fragile equilibrium on the farm, and the sisters’ relationship bears the weight of their family’s legacy.
With the day turning toward departure, Whizzer and Golly are ready to leave for California, but Oriole, still wrapped in her father’s regalia, sets their motorcycles ablaze. Whizzer stops her, keeping the danger from spiraling, and the moment hangs between control and catastrophe. As the group finally contemplates leaving, Golly decides to stay with Acacia, while Oriole chooses to join Whizzer, climbing onto the back of his motorcycle. The ride out of Bingo is framed by the sounds of the world resuming its ordinary pace, until four fighter jets streak overhead, a stark reminder of the era’s tensions, violence, and longing for a better, perhaps impossible, future.
