John Rambo, a US veteran from the Vietnam war returns to America and discovers that for him nothing is as it used to be before the war. On a trip in search of an army buddy he discovers trouble with a small town sheriff. Rambo is originally hassled by the sheriff and arrested on bogus charges of vagrancy. While in jail he is being cleaned up. Several of the guards tease him as they shave him. They joke of his throat getting slit if he isn't careful. This brings back memories of a POW camp in Vietnam for John Rambo. He acts instinctively, overpowers all the guards and escapes for the mountains. A massive manhunt for Rambo begins as the sheriff leads a seeming crusade against Rambo. Rambo when pushed, pushes back. He is a one man army that defends against the sheriff and his deputies as well as the national guard. In the climax of the film Rambo shoots up the town and roams the streets as fires of destruction light up the night. Rambo is ultimately surrounded while holding up in a gun store. He reluctantly surrenders after a talk with his former commander in Vietnam, Colonel Trautman. The man that was in charge of multi million dollar machines in Vietnam could not even hold down a steady job in America after the war. This thought burns in his mind as he surrenders.