After visiting Pasadena, Texas, country boy Bud Davis starts hanging round a bar called Gilley's, where he falls in love with Sissy, a cowgirl who thinks the sexes are equal. They wed, but their relationship is because of the conventional view of gender roles of Bud. Jealousy on his Wes, contributes for their separation, but Bud tries to acquire Sissy back by triumphing at Gilley's mechanical contest.