During the American Civil War, Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) serves as a Confederate States of America cavalryman until his commanding officer Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich) orders him to burn down a hospital. Hex refuses, and is forced to kill his best friend, Turnbull's son Jeb. After the war, Turnbull and his enforcer Burke (Michael Fassbender) force Hex to watch his house burn down with his wife and son inside. Turnbull brands Hex's face with his initials and leaves him to die. Indigenous peoples of the Americas revive Jonah with mystic powers, giving him the ability to temporarily resurrect the dead. When Turnbull apparently dies in a hotel fire, Hex satisfies his hunger for vengeance as a bounty hunting and sears half his face to remove the brand.