Set in the late twelfth century, the film follows Robin Longstride, an archer in King Richard's army who assumes the identity of a dead knight and returns to England bearing the king's crown after Richard is killed in France. Settling in Nottingham, Robin becomes entangled in the political turmoil surrounding the weak King John and the scheming of a treacherous nobleman working secretly with French forces planning an invasion. As he rallies the common people and local lords to resist both tyranny and foreign attack, Robin begins to forge the legendary outlaw identity that history would remember.