Philo Beddoe, a truck driver from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California, earns extra money by competing in bare-knuckle fights. He lives with his friend and promoter, Orville Boggs, Orville’s mother, “Ma,” and a pet orangutan named Clyde that Philo won on a bet. One night after a successful bout, Philo and Orville celebrate at The Palomino Club, a local honky-tonk bar where Philo is awestruck by singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor. After Philo introduces himself and strikes up a conversation, he drives Lynn back to her mobile home but declines her invitation to come inside after learning that her boyfriend, Schyler, is also there. The next day, Philo and Clyde have an altercation on the road with several members of the Black Widows motorcycle gang. Later, Philo and Lynn drive to meet Orville at a diner, and Lynn explains that she stays with Schyler because he is helping her raise money to open a nightclub. At the diner, Philo is accosted by two members of the Black Widows, but he beats them easily and steals their motorcycles. After selling the stolen bikes, Philo gives the money to Lynn for her nightclub. They go on a date but are followed by Schyler, who rams Philo’s truck and shoots at him. Determined to confront Schyler, Philo drives Lynn home, but she convinces him to stay away. The next day, the manager of Lynn’s trailer park informs Philo that she has gone back home to Denver, Colorado. Philo heads to the Palomino to look for Lynn, where the bartender hands him a note in which she apologizes. Upset, Philo accidentally bumps into a patron and sets off a barroom brawl. Learning that two of the men he is fighting, Putnam and Herb, are off-duty policemen, Philo makes an escape. He decides to follow Lynn to Denver, taking Orville and Clyde with him. At a roadside fruit stand, Orville flirts with a girl named Echo, who then joins the men on their trip. Meanwhile, Philo’s enemies, the Black Widows, decide to follow him and exact revenge, as do officers Putnam and Herb. Separately, the adversaries follow Philo’s trail to Ma’s house and Lynn’s former trailer park, ascertaining that Philo is headed to Denver. After stopping to make some money in a bare-knuckle fight, Philo’s group arrives in Colorado and settles into a campsite. The next morning, Philo goes for a run and sees Lynn driving down the road. Although Lynn seems unhappy to see him, she picks Philo up and they make love at her house. She agrees to see him again the next day before dropping him back at the campsite. Philo informs Orville and Echo about the rendezvous, and, the next morning, Orville decides to go fishing. At a bait shop, as he and Echo discuss Philo’s situation with Lynn, Putnam and Herb overhear and follow Orville back to the campsite. There, the policemen attempt to ambush Philo, but he beats them and pushes their truck into the lake. Although Philo and the group wait for Lynn at a restaurant, she never shows up. The next day, the Black Widows run into Lynn and inform her of their agenda. Hoping to rid herself of Philo, Lynn conspires with the bikers to trap him. Unaware of the plot, Philo meets up with Lynn, but she speeds off in her car, leaving him surrounded by the Black Widows. As Philo fights the entire gang alone, Orville hijacks a garbage truck and destroys most of their motorcycles. The bikers chase Orville, but Echo picks up Philo and Orville and they escape. That night, Philo searches the phonebook and calls the bar where Lynn is scheduled to perform. He meets her there and she reveals that she seduced him so he would give her money, then tried to get rid of him afterward by sending Schyler after his truck. Wounded by her callousness, Philo says that his only sin was “wanting to take her further than her bed.” Insulted, Lynn curses and slaps Philo, then breaks down in tears. Bloodied and teary-eyed, Philo reunites with his group. Before heading back to California, Orville arranges a fight between Philo and Tank Murdock, a legendary bare-knuckle brawler Philo has always wanted to meet. Philo effortlessly gains the upper hand in their bout, but throws the match when he realizes that Tank is past his prime. The next day, Philo and his companions head back home. As they pass a group of battered Black Widows and Putnam’s water-damaged truck, they laugh.