Broken Trail is set at the end of the 19th century, a time in America when Chinese immigrants were treated worse than livestock. Five young Chinese girls are sold into slavery by their families to the creepy trader Captain Billy Fender (James Russo). The girls are destined to be the new, “exotic entertainment” (prostitution) at a saloon (brothel) in a neighbouring mining town.
Meanwhile, ranch-hand Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church) is busy at work when his estranged uncle Prentice “Print” Ritter (Robert Duvall) rides on in. Print has some bad news to deliver — Tom’s mother has died and left the family farm to Print, not Tom. Print also has a business proposition and wants Tom to be his partner. He wants to mortgage the family farm to buy 500 mustangs and transport them to Wyoming where a war profiteer will pay top dollar. Tom agrees to his uncle’s plan and they set out on the trail from Oregon to Wyoming, 800 miles across the harsh frontier.
Are the cow-hands and the slaves destined to meet? Find out after the jump.