Next of Kin

Truman Gates, a former US Army Airborne Ranger from Appalachia, relocates to Chicago to pursue a career as a police officer. He marries Jessie, who is pregnant, marking his shift from rural life to urban law enforcement. This move begins his long, hard transition into city policing.

With the coal mine closing, Truman persuades his younger brother Gerald to seek work in Chicago as a truck driver. Gerald is hijacked and killed by mobsters, with Joey Rosellini implicated as the killer. Truman learns of Gerald's death as he starts building his policing career.

Truman returns to Kentucky for Gerald's funeral. Briar Gates urges a traditional mountain blood feud, while Truman pleads for Gerald's murder to be handled by the law. The family becomes divided between vengeance and legal justice.

Briar travels to Chicago to search for Gerald's killer, insisting on paying blood for blood. Truman begs him to let the killing be handled legally rather than through a feud. The brothers' paths diverge as Briar begins his own hunt in the city.

Briar finds a room at a flop house and leaves the cousin's number with the front desk clerk in case he doesn't return. He begins gathering information on Gerald's killer, getting into trouble by shooting up a mob hangout in the process.

Truman arrives as Briar's attacks unfold and witnesses the mob's reaction. Joey Rosellini, embarrassed by the assault, refuses to press charges and says he will handle things himself. The uneasy dynamic between the brothers begins to take shape.

A witness identifies the hijackers, enabling Truman and Briar to narrow suspects. Truman pressures Lawrence, Papa John's son, to become a state's witness against Joey. Lawrence seeks help from Joey and is betrayed, his body found tortured with Briar's shotgun at the scene.

Joey tells Papa John to sanction a hit on the suspected culprit, escalating the mob war. Briar breaks into Rosellini's trucking company and fights Joey's crew, killing two before Joey shoots Briar, mortally wounding him. Briar dies in Truman's arms, a turning point in the feud.

The flop house desk clerk hears a news report about the killings and calls the number Briar gave him. Police realize the evidence against Briar was planted, but there is no proof to prove it. Truman resigns from the police to pursue the Rosellini mob himself.

The Gates and Isabella families travel to Chicago to wage war on the Outfit, with Truman lashing out at Joey's men and tossing one through a restaurant window. A taunting 'You forgot one' message appears on Joey's car, signaling a personal vendetta. Joey vows to kill Truman without Papa John's permission.

Truman lures the Rosellini crew to a cemetery for a final showdown, and the Gates clan arrives to back him up. Truman pins Joey on the ground with a knife at his throat, but Papa John arrives with the Gates family held at gunpoint and forces Truman to back off. The confrontation ends with a fragile truce hanging in the balance.

In the aftermath, the Gates and Isabella families reach a truce and end the blood feud. Back at the police station, Truman finds Jessie and tells her, "You're my family," choosing his loved ones over the law. The film closes on Truman's renewed commitment to his family.