Guns for San Sebastian

In 1746, Mestizo outlaw Leon Alastray is wounded and chased into a church by soldiers on the frontier. A sympathetic priest hides him, refusing to betray his sanctuary despite pressure from the Bishop and the army. The priest's protection sets off a chain of events that pull Alastray into a life he has avoided.

With the army pressing the priest, the Bishop accordingly assigns him to a remote village, San Sebastian. The priest smuggles Alastray past the soldiers and they both head toward the village. Alastray accompanies him but remains angry and embittered by the turn of events.

They arrive at San Sebastian to find the church barely standing and the villagers in hiding. A marauding vaquero shoots the priest, mortally wounding him, setting off fear and confusion. The ringing bell attracts the villagers from the hills, who mistake Alastray for a priest.

A persistent village woman, Kinita, pushes Alastray to embrace a leadership role. He initially resists, but the villagers’ belief in him grows as they interpret a local accident as a miracle. He agrees to organize them despite his misgivings.

Alastray directs the men to rebuild and defend the settlement, including an irrigation dam project for sustenance. The villagers rally to his leadership, hoping to resist the threats from Teclo and the Yaqui. The sense of purpose comes with a spark of religious wonder.

Teclo, the mestizo vaquero chief, pretends to side with the villagers while secretly preferring their renunciation of Catholic authority. Behind the scenes, the Yaqui threat grows as Teclo’s alliance with Golden Lance tightens. The villagers sense a looming catastrophe.

The Yaqui attack devastates the village, killing many inhabitants and driving the survivors to flee in fear. In the turmoil, Alastray is driven from San Sebastian, leaving Kinita to navigate the village's fate without him. The assault hardens the villagers’ resolve against their enemies.

Alastray travels to the provincial capital and, by blackmailing a former lover who is now the Governor’s wife, procures muskets, gunpowder, and a cannon. He returns to the village, arming the villagers and restoring their hope of defense against Teclo and the Yaqui. The balance of power shifts dramatically.

Alastray attempts a peace overture to Golden Lance, which initially seems possible but Teclo sabotages it, making a Yaqui attack almost inevitable. The villagers brace for a final confrontation, believing their leader can guide them through religion and courage.

On the eve of battle, the villagers ask Alastray to say Mass, and though he admits he is not a priest, they accept him as their leader. He leads the community with a new sense of purpose, drawing strength from faith as they prepare.

The villagers repel the Yaqui attack on the village, but gunpowder is nearly exhausted and a counterattack seems doomed. A boy spots the enemy massing and the villagers improvise a plan to survive through a risky rock-fall tactic.

During the night, charges are set along a mountainside to drop rocks onto the attackers. In the morning, Teclo is killed by the villagers as he passes by, and the Yaqui and Golden Lance leaders fall with others when the rocks detonate. The valley begins to quiet, the threat subsiding as the attackers are eliminated.

With the area pacified, government authorities, the Bishop, and a new parish priest arrive in San Sebastian. An officer recognizes Alastray during Mass and orders his arrest, but the villagers use a decoy to shield him. Alastray escapes with Kinita, declaring his new belief in the Christian God.