Set in 1845, Kelly Reichardt’s (Wendy and Lucy and Old Joy) pared down western tells the story of a wagon team of three families who set off across the Cascade Mountains on the Oregon Trail in search of a new life. The band of travellers hire Stephen Meek, a rough, gung-ho wilderness guide who makes grand promises to take them on a short cut. Without sufficient food or water, and lost in the brittle, harsh landscape, the group soon recognise the gravity of their situation. When a Native American stumbles on the stricken travellers, he offers a way out that questions their preconceptions.