When a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces returns to his small hometown in rural Washington State hoping to realise a childhood dream of working in the local lumber mill, he discovers that much has changed, as the normally tranquil town is now besieged by drugs, outbreaks of violence and a general feeling of malaise and terror, with many pointing a finger at the influence of a crooked casino where his ex-girlfriend now works as a dancer. Seeking to wreak vengeance, with a four-foot-long 4-by-4 in his hand, and righteousness in his heart, the highly-trained soldier, now the county's sheriff, and his deputy, realizes it's time to bust some heads with a very hard piece of wood.

At the beginning when Chris Vaughn asks the sheriff what happened to the former sheriff it is said that the guy was a great man but they found one day he had mysteriously skidded off a deserted road and died hitting a tree. This is a reference to how the real Buford Pusser died.

Chris Vaughn:
Get your tail-lights fixed, sir.


Jay Hamilton:
What's wrong with my tail-lights?


Chris Vaughn:
[Vaughn smashes the tail-lights with a 4X4] They're broken.

Continuity: When Chris takes the mail, he closes the mailbox. In the following close-up shot of him, the mailbox is open.

Written by Gregg Allman, Robert Kim Payne
Performed by Gregg Allman
Courtesy of Universal Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises