Red Garnett is a no-nonsense Texas Ranger who sent Butch Haynes to youth detention as a child. A Perfect World follows Garnett as he pursues Haynes into the Texas Panhandle. Although the sheriff is actually a lesser role than the criminal, he too develops a (non-sexual) relationship with a young Laura Dern, as he learns some new ways of catching criminals from the second smartest person on the chase.