There is this army guy who gets separated from his outfit and finds himself in the land of a mysterious, loincloth-wearing, beaded-hair-having people who are supposed to be enemy but yet seem to be fairly cool. Army guy piques the curiosity of the people by having an interaction with a wild critter, which works in his favor since the locals really really dig and respect nature.

Contact is made and he works to earn respect from the populace and from the chief / chief’s wife in particular. Fortunately the chief’s daughter speaks some English and he hangs with her a lot, eventually boning her and falling in love. By pulling off a few daring feats of courage he wins respect from all but the primary warrior guy, who is jealous, protective, and angry.

Eventually he embraces their ways and makes the emotional jump to favoring them over his old allegiance. This becomes significant when his previous people begin pushing the new people out of their territory. He fights hard with his new friends. They love him and accept him fully. He becomes one of them.

… oh wait, that’s Dances with Wolves, sorry about that.