Butcher’s Crossing follows the journey of Will Andrews, a young Harvard dropout who travels west in the 1870s seeking meaning, adventure, and a deeper connection with the natural world. Drawn by romantic ideas of frontier life, he arrives in the rough town of Butcher’s Crossing, a place defined by its saloons, dust, and desperate men searching for profit. There he meets Miller, a hardened and experienced buffalo hunter whose intense personality both intimidates and fascinates Will. Convinced that Miller knows the true path to understanding the wilderness, Will decides to join him on a risky expedition.

Miller insists he knows of a remote valley hidden within the Colorado mountains where a massive untouched buffalo herd still roams. Despite warnings from locals, Will funds the expedition using his inheritance. The group—Miller, Will, the seasoned skinner Fred, and the devout yet troubled cook Charlie Hoge—sets off with ambition and heavy supplies. At first, the adventure seems thrilling for Will, who is captivated by the vastness of the plains and the raw beauty of the landscape. But the deeper they travel, the clearer it becomes that Miller is driven by obsession rather than reason.

When they finally reach the secret valley, they discover an enormous buffalo herd, confirming Miller’s claims. The hunt begins brutally and relentlessly. Miller becomes consumed with killing every buffalo in sight, pushing the men and their horses beyond exhaustion. Will, though horrified by the slaughter, forces himself to continue, believing he must prove his worth. Days turn into weeks, and the valley becomes a graveyard of carcasses. Even after they have more hides than they could ever carry, Miller refuses to stop, chasing perfection at the cost of sanity.

As the weather shifts, the group becomes trapped by an early winter blizzard. Their camp is buried in snow, supplies dwindle, and survival becomes doubtful. Will begins to question everything—Miller’s judgment, the hunt’s purpose, and his own romantic illusions about the frontier. The long months of freezing isolation force him to confront human fragility and the destructive side of ambition.

When spring finally arrives, the men discover that most of the hides have been ruined by weather and scavengers. The enormous herd they slaughtered now symbolizes nothing but waste. Their return to Butcher’s Crossing is devastating: the town is economically collapsed, the market for buffalo hides destroyed, and their entire journey rendered meaningless. Miller disappears into the wilderness, refusing to accept defeat.

Will leaves Butcher’s Crossing forever, carrying with him a painful understanding of nature’s power and humanity’s capacity for destruction. The experience shatters his idealism but also awakens a deeper, sobering awareness of the world and his place within it.