Somewhere in
Texas in the year 1858, several male
slaves are being driven by the Speck Brothers, Ace and Dicky. Among the shackled slaves is
Django, sold off and separated from his wife, Broomhilda. The Speck Brothers are stopped by Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist and bounty hunter. Schultz asks to buy one of the slaves, but while questioning Django about his knowledge of the Brittle Brothers, for whom Schultz is carrying a warrant, he irritates Ace who aims his shotgun at Schultz. Schultz quickly kills Ace and leaves Dicky at the mercy of the other newly-freed slaves. Since Django can identify the Brittle Brothers, Schultz offers Django his freedom in exchange for his help in tracking them down. After executing the Brittles, Django partners with Schultz through the winter and becomes his apprentice. Schultz explains that, being the first person he has ever given freedom to, he feels responsible for Django and is driven to help him in his quest to rescue Broomhilda. Upon first learning of her name, Schultz tells Django the tale of the mythical German valkyrie,
Brünnhilde.
Django, now fully trained, collects his first bounty, keeping the handbill as a good luck charm. In
Mississippi, Schultz uncovers the identity of Broomhilda's owner, Calvin Candie, the charming but brutal owner of Candyland, a
plantation where slaves are forced to fight to the death in boxing matches called "
Mandingo fights." Schultz, expecting Candie will not entertain offers for Broomhilda if they are forthright, devises a ruse to purchase one of Candie's prized fighters, purchase Broomhilda on the side, then disappear before the deal is finalized. Schultz and Django meet Candie at a club in
Greenville and submit their offer. His greed tickled, Candie invites them to Candyland. After he secretly debriefs Broomhilda on the plan, Schultz moves to the next step, claiming to be charmed by the German-speaking Broomhilda.
During dinner, Candie's staunchly loyal senior
house slave and overseer, Stephen, becomes suspicious. He deduces that Django and Broomhilda know each other and that the sale of the Mandingo fighter is just a misdirection. Stephen alerts Candie, who subsequently extorts the bounty hunters with Broomhilda's life for the complete bid amount. Schultz yields and, after the money is paid and the paperwork signed, Candie demands a formal handshake from Schultz to finalize the deal. Schultz, disgusted, shoots him through the heart with a concealed
derringer. Schultz then apologizes to Django before he himself is fatally shot by one of Candie's henchman before either Broomhilda or Django can react. In the ensuing gun battle, Django kills many of the remaining henchmen but surrenders once Broomhilda is taken hostage at gunpoint.
The next morning, Django is informed by Stephen that he will be sold to a mine and worked to death. En route to the mine, Django proves to his escorts that he is a
bounty hunter by showing them the handbill from his first kill. He then convinces them of a very large bounty for a man back at Candyland, of which they would receive the majority, should Django be released. Once Django is uncuffed and given a pistol, he swiftly kills his captors, takes their dynamite and rides back, alone, to Candyland.
Returning to the plantation, Django discovers Schultz's body in a stable, takes Broomhilda's freedom papers and says goodbye in German to his fallen mentor. Django releases Broomhilda from her improvised cell. When Candie's mourners return from his funeral, Django guns down Candie's remaining henchmen and Candie's sister. Django then releases the two house slaves and shoots Stephen in the knees, crippling him. As Stephen angrily curses Django, Django ignites the dynamite he has planted throughout the mansion and leaves Stephen to be killed. He and Broomhilda watch from a distance as the mansion explodes before riding off into the night.
In a post-credits scene, a group of slaves who appeared earlier in the film contemplate about who Django was.
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