Inspired by true events, Woman Walks Ahead follows Catherine Weldon, a widowed artist from New York in the 1880s, who traveled to North Dakota to paint a portrait of Chief Sitting Bull. Catherine and Sitting Bull, each broken in their own way, come to recognize their mutual strength. Soon, the wider political struggle for Native American land rights influences their friendship, and they overcome personal adversity to fight against the US government’s takeover of the Plains Indians’ lands.