Jess Wade, a former member of a gang of outlaws led by Vince Hackett, is led to believe that an old flame, Tracy Winters, wants to meet him in a seedy Mexican saloon. Jess sees Billy Roy Hackett, Vince's younger brother, summoning Vince and the other members of the gang into the saloon, and realizes he has been set up. Jess orders the bar patrons to leave before a shootout ensues. Making a break for the door, Jess is stopped by Gunner, another gang member, and is forced to relinquish his gun and to go with them to their hideout in the mountains. Vince later tells him that the gang has stolen a gold-plated cannon that was used by Emperor Maximilian in his ill-fated fight against popular Mexican leader Benito Juárez. Vince informs him that a wanted poster has been produced: it says that Jess is in the gang who stole the cannon and has sustained a neck wound as a result of being shot by one of the guards. Ordering his men to subdue Jess on the ground, Vince uses a branding iron to burn his neck. They take his horse, leaving him stranded. He captures a wild horse in the desert and saddle-breaks it. The gang's motive is to force a ransom from the town they stole the cannon from, but the gang also use the cannon to hold the townspeople at bay. Only Jess can save the people from his former gang.

(Movie overview by Wikipedia)