Everett Ulysses McGill, a silver tongued petty criminal who finds himself on the wrong end of a chain gang in deepest Mississippi. Together with a clumsy duo of lame losers, simple minded Delmar and maladjusted Pete, he scams his way off the chain gang and into the adventure of a lifetime as the three set off in search of a fortune in buried treasure? still shackled and hopelessly unprepared for the road ahead.