Heads or Tails?

In the early 1900s, Buffalo Bill brings his traveling Wild West Show to Italy, introducing the myth of American cowboys to Italian audiences. The Rome stop sets the stage for a clash of pride between American spectacle and local rivalries. The atmosphere is charged as Rupè positions himself as the rival to Bill's performers.

During the Rome show, Ercole Rupè challenges the local butteri club to prove their superiority. He bets on the Americans to win, hoping to discredit the Italian riders. The contest ignites tensions that drive the central conflict of the story.

Santino, a talented buttero, refuses to throw the match and instead proves his skill by winning the challenge. Rupè's plan to humiliate him collapses as Santino dominates the competition. The victory shifts the power balance and deepens the feud.

Rupè is engaged to Rosa, a charming young French woman, but he treats her with constant abuse and insults. The toxic dynamic foreshadows the danger Rosa faces as the story unfolds. Rosa's patience wears thin as the relationship deteriorates.

After Rupè witnesses Santino approaching Rosa, he insults and beats his girlfriend and threatens Santino. In a flash of rage, Rosa shoots Rupè and kills him. The murder shatters the already fraught world of the lovers and forces them into flight.

With Rupè dead, Rosa and Santino flee and hide as they decide to reach America, Rosa's dream. They move as fugitives through Italy, keeping their romance secret from pursuers. The journey marks a turning point from personal conflict to a perilous escape.

Rupè's elderly, wealthy father places a bounty on the buttero believed responsible for the murder and tasks Buffalo Bill with finding the fugitives. The hunt now carries both personal vengeance and a public prize. The chase broadens in scope with the legend of Bill involved.

During their escape, Rosa and Santino fall in love and become secretly engaged. They encounter anarchist rebels who see Santino as a symbol of revolt against the wealthy and the lords. The rebels add a layer of political peril to the couple's already dangerous journey.

The rebels are attacked by soldiers, triggering a chaotic gun battle. In the heat of the fighting, Giovanni 'Zecchino', a rebel who covets Santino's head, shoots and kills him. Rosa's hopes for a future with Santino are crushed in the crossfire.

Rosa wakes in a cave overlooking the sea, tied to a goat cage, after being kidnapped. Zecchino and his brother quarrel over who will deliver Santino's severed head to Rupè, and their dispute escalates into murderous conflict. Rosa uses the chaos to plan her escape.

The two brothers kill each other, allowing Rosa to flee while carrying Santino's severed head. She endures fear, despair, and a fierce resolve as she carries the macabre burden. Rosa continues her flight with the head as a grim trophy and symbol.

Buffalo Bill, accompanied by one of his men and the headless body of Santino, locates Rosa and presents a game: heads means a gunfight, tails grants freedom to continue. The coin toss becomes a strange, chilling fork in Rosa's journey. The encounter tests her nerve as she weighs violence and escape.

The result of the coin flip is left unclear, but Rosa continues forward with determination. She still carries Santino's head, her horse, and Buffalo Bill's notebook as she presses toward America. The ambiguity heightens the tension of her ongoing escape.

Rosa reaches Mr. Rupè and presents him with Santino's head, forcing him to pay the promised reward. The exchange marks a brutal turn in the pursuit and underscores the price of vengeance. Rosa's resilience is fortified by this moment of leverage.

After obtaining the money, Rosa confesses to being Ercole's killer and recovers Santino's head. She flees once more, galloping through the countryside on her white horse with the head as a grim talisman. The tale closes on Rosa's continued journey toward America, bearing the weight of loss and resolve.