Chasing their dream of a better life, Harry (Fonda) and his good friend Arch (Oates) have drifted across the plains of America together. However, Harry has grown tired of his transient life and decides to return to the wife and child that he left years before.

At first, refusing to accept him, Harry’s wife orders that he sleep in the barn and work the farm, strictly as a hired hand. However, soon their romance is rekindled and they rediscover the happiness they once shared. Yet, as ill news of Arch reaches him, Harry is forced to make the most costly choice of his life…

After the success of the era-defining ’Easy Rider’, star and creator Peter Fonda was given the opportunity to shoot the movie of his choice. The result was ’The Hired Hand’, an elegiac western that stands firmly as a forgotten classic of modern American cinema.