In 1870, at a remote ranch in Arizona, homesteader Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page) and her six-year-old son Johnny (Lee Aaker) are performing chores at their ranch when a stranger (John Wayne) arrives on foot, carrying only his saddle bags and a rifle. The man tells them that his name is Lane, and that he was riding dispatch for the US Army Cavalry. He had lost his horse in an encounter with some Indians. Angie tells Lane her ranch hand had quit before he had a chance to break her two horses for riding, so Lane offers to break a horse himself. Lane deduces from the neglected ranch that her husband has been away for some time, a fact she confesses is true. When night falls Angie offers to let Lane sleep in her home. Hondo, meanwhile, reveals that he is part Indian and was married five years to a Mescalero woman. Angie sees his rifle is inscribed "Hondo" Lane, who she knows had killed three men the year before. She attempts to shoot him, but due to the chamber being empty, Hondo is not hurt. He loads the chamber and tells her to keep it that way. Hondo tells Angie she reminds him of a woman from his past, and kisses her before he leaves.