Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae (Robert Duvall) and Captain Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones), two famous former Texas Rangers, run a livery in the small dusty Texas border town of Lonesome Dove. Gus loves women, but he's twice a widower, and Call is somewhat of a workaholic. Working with them are Joshua Deets (Danny Glover), a black tracker and scout from their Ranger days, Pea Eye Parker (Tim Scott), another former Ranger who works hard but isn't very bright, and Bolívar (León Singer), a retired Mexican bandit who is their cook. Also living with them is Newt Dobbs (Ricky Schroder), a 17-year-old whose mother was a prostitute named Maggie and whose father may be Call.