Bud Davis is just small country boy from Spur. He moves to the big city and gets a job in an oil refinery with his uncle and at night spends his time in Gilley's Nightclub. There, he meets a pretty little two-stepping filly named Sissy who thinks that Bud is a "real cowboy". After a brief courtship, the two decide to marry. However, tension rises when an ex-con called Wes, who works the mechanical bull at Gilley's, takes an interest to Sissy and teaches to ride it as well as Bud does. And when Bud finds up what Sissy was doing, he challenges her to a ride-off, only to break his arm. Feeling angry and hurt, Bud kicks her out of the house. The next evening, he makes Sissy just as jealous by taking up with beautiful, classy cowgirl Pam. Sensing that the marriage is over, Sissy starts something with Wes in his trailer behind the club. When a bull riding contest is announced, Bud gets the notion to sign up in the hopes to impress Sissy and win her back. But, Wes has something dangerous up his sleeve. Will Bud step in, win the contest and save his marriage? Shot on location in Houston and Pasadena, Texas, the movie features music by The Charlie Daniels Band, Johnny Lee, Bonnie Raitt, and Mickey Gilley himself.