'Bandit' Bo Darville (Burt Reynolds) is offered a rather profitable deal by 'Big' Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick) to transport a shipment of beer for him from Texas to his home state of Georgia. The catch? It's Colorado Coors Beer that he wants, illegal in the Eastern U.S. Plus the Bandit needs to get to Texas and back with it in little more than 24 hours or he forfeits his payment. He accepts the challenge and recruits his good, truck-driving friend Cledus 'Snowman' Snow (Jerry Reed) to assist him in the endeavor with Snowman hauling the cargo in the trailer of his semi-truck and Bandit running interference for him with the police in his trademark black-and-gold Trans Am. Along the way, however, Bandit picks up hitchhiking beauty, Carrie (Sally Field), who just happens to be the runaway bride of one Junior Justice (Mike Henry), the dopey son of good-old-boy Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). When Justice learns that she was seen getting into Bandit’s car, he sets out on a 'high speed pursuit' of the two of them, determined to retrieve his future daughter-in-law by whatever means necessary.