This movie is about Nathan Algren, a former U.S. Army captain against the savage Indian tribes. He is tortured by the guilt of having been part of an Indian massacre on a defenseless Indian village. After the war he puts himself into a downward spiral to try to drown out his nightmares. When his old officer, Col. Bagley, offers him a job to help him train and lead the military force of Emperor Meiji, he accepts the offer, only to realize some time later that he is just training more men to slaughter another foreign tribe. During their first battle against the Samurai, Nathan gets captured, and taken prisoner. He is then taken to the Samurai's home village in the mountains. There he learns a completely foreign way of living. He soon participates in some of their cultural beliefs, learning their native language, and learning the way of the Samurai. He then realizes that he has come to love this village and their way of living, and that he has finally found something worth fighting for.