Ellen (Sharon Stone), an unknown female gunslinger rides into a small, dingy and depressing prairie town. The town folk are signing up for a gun competition. The pot is a huge sum of money and the only rule: that you follow the rules of Herod (Gene Hackman), the leader, and ruler of the town. He’s arranged this gun-show-off so that the preacher, Cort, will have to fight again. Cort refuses to ever use a gun and Herod, is determined, even if it gets someone killed