WHITE LIGHTNING

Bobby "Gator" McKlusky is incarcerated in an Arkansas state prison for running "white lightning." When he learns that his younger brother, Donny, was killed by Bogan County Sheriff J. C. Connors, he attempts to escape but is quickly re-captured. The sheriff is taking money from local moonshiners, and Gator agrees to go undercover for the United States Department of the Treasury in their corruption and smuggling investigation. His true motive is revenge for his brother's murder, and he has no intention of gathering any evidence against his fellow moonshiners.

The Feds give Gator a high-performance 1971 Ford Custom 500 and direct him to contact Dude Watson, a local stock car racer and low-level whiskey runner, who is forced to cooperate because he is already on probation. To infiltrate the local moonshine industry, Dude introduces Gator to Roy Boone, one of the county's top runners working for moonshiner Big Bear, who is also Sheriff Connors's enforcer. Gator starts an affair with Roy's girlfriend Lou while gaining the trust of Roy and Big Bear as he slowly plots his revenge against the sheriff.

Sheriff Connors discovers Gator is working for the federal government and sends Big Bear after him. Dude is subsequently shot and killed, while Gator and Lou escape and seek refuge at Sister Linda Fay's Home for Unwed Mothers, which is located deep in the woods. Gator knows the Feds will want evidence against the sheriff and the moonshiners, but Connors's men find him first. Gator escapes in his Ford and intentionally goads Connors into pursuing him. After a drawn-out car chase, Gator tricks Connors into jumping his patrol car over an embankment and into the river. Connors drowns when his car sinks, as Gator watches with satisfaction. With Connors dead and no evidence against any of the moonshiners, the disappointed Feds escort Gator and Lou out of Bogan County as the sheriff's funeral procession passes nearby.

Gator provokes Sheriff Connors into a fatal car chase, resulting in Connors's death by drowning. With the sheriff dead and no evidence against the moonshiners, the Feds escort Gator and Lou out of Bogan County as Connors's funeral passes.

The ending delivers both personal vengeance and the collapse of corrupt authority, but leaves the moonshine operation untouched, highlighting Gator’s loyalty to his own code over the law. The funeral procession underscores the small-town cycle of violence and the ambiguous victory of justice—personal satisfaction for Gator, but little systemic change.