Following the American Civil War, the two James brothers, along with the Younger brothers - Cole Younger (played by Randy Travis) and Bob Younger (Todd Field), Robert Ford (outlaw) (Jim Flowers) and Charles Ford (outlaw) (Alexis Arquette), Clell Miller (John Pyper-Ferguson), and Arch Clements (Nick Sadler), begin to feel oppressed by the Chicago railroad investors. They set off on a trail of bank robberies, train heists, and stage holdups while evading the dogged pursuit of Allan Pinkerton (William Atherton) and his detective agency.