The story centers arounds a homeless Vietnam veteran known only by his last name, Rambo. He wanders into Madison County, Kentucky and is quickly intercepted by the local police chief, Wilfred Teasle, who drives him to the town limits and orders him to stay out. When Rambo repeatedly returns, Teasle finally arrests him on charges of vagrancy and resisting arrest, for which he can be held for up to 35 days in jail. Stripped naked and kept inside a claustrophobia-inducing cell, Rambo experiences a flashback to his days as a POW in Vietnam, and he attacks the police as they attempt to cut his hair and shave him, grabbing a straight razor and using it to disembowel an officer. He forces his way out, steals a motorcycle, and hides in the nearby mountains. Teasle orders a manhunt, resulting in most of his officers, several civilian deputies, and countless National Guardsmen getting killed by deadly traps and ambushes set by Rambo.