Old Chief Wood'nhead is an aged wooden statue of an Indian set outside a small convenience store in the town of Dead River, Arizona. The owner of the store, Ray Spruce, always touches up his fading war paint and speaks to him as though he were alive. When Mr. and Mrs. Spruce are murdered at the hands of local thug Sam Whitemoon and his sycophants, The Chief comes to life, applying his own war paint and arming himself with his knife, tomahawk, and bow. The Chief goes on a warpath, hunting down the petty criminals responsible for the Spruce's death and killing them. The Chief doesn't speak, but he can roar, and bullets seem to have no effect on him.