By day, Bud Davis (Travolta) toils at a Texas oil refinery; at night, he trades his hard hat for a Stetson and heads to Gilley's, Houston's most popular nightclub. There, he meets a pretty two-stepper named Sissy (Debra Winger) who thinks Bud is a "real cowboy." But Bud's got to prove it when a dangerous ex-con (Scott Glenn) schemes to rob Gilley's and steal Sissy's heart.