When two men discover a human skull and an encrusted badge buried near a small Texas border town, lawman Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) launches an investigation that reveals a 40-year-old murder in director John Sayles's acclaimed drama. Sam's late father, the former sheriff (Matthew McConaughey, in flashbacks), is a town legend, and Sam's discoveries threaten to tarnish his dad's reputation and touch the lives of nearly everyone in the community.