In the 1950s, Dude Delaney (David Arquette) is a guitar-playing drifter who wanders into a quiet town looking to play music and generally cause trouble, much to the chagrin of the local sheriff (William Sadler). While palling around with his B-movie-obsessed friend, Nixer (John Hawkes), Dude meets a beautiful woman by the name of Donna (Salma Hayek), and is offered a position in a rockabilly band, but the sheriff is intent on getting rid of him by any means necessary.