In a tale wrapped in deception, a con artist in priestly clothing, Orlowsky, learns from a last confession about a village where a treasure lies hidden. He heads straight to locate the Mexican bandit Max Lozoya, who is said to know more about the treasure’s exact location—part of the deciphering instructions even tattooed on his body. The pursuit becomes a tangled web of motives, with Orlowsky pursuing wealth and influence, while Lozoya keeps a wary eye on his own chances to profit.
Meanwhile, a relentless push for revolution unfolds on the political side of the borderlands. An Irish journalist named Mary O'Donnell seizes on the moment, attempting to spark a wider upheaval by bribing sheriff Randall to secure the escape of the fallen revolutionary El Salvador. What begins as a scheme to propel a nationalist cause quickly reveals deeper rot: El Salvador is dead, and the sheriff’s “end” justifies a price tag. The sheriff runs a dangerous scam of his own, collecting money to stage escapes and then killing the escapees for rewards, with the prison warden taking a cut. The plan to present Lozoya as the escaping hero gains momentum, especially since the sheriff discovers that Orlowsky is his cousin, a connection he blames for a persistent back condition that forces him to wear a metal brace.
In a dramatic turn, the sheriff’s plan falters. The warden moves to release Lozoya under a ruse, but Lozoya, unsteady and out of practice, fights his way free with the help of Orlowsky. When they burst into the corridor, Lozoya resists, but the two manage a precarious escape. A tense moment leads to a clash with Mary, who recognizes Lozoya but lets him play along, further fueling Orlowsky’s theory that she is a journalist who builds idols only to pull them down—someone who uses upheaval as a story.
Lozoya initially adopts the disguise of El Salvador to mobilize support in his own game against Orlowsky. In a tavern, a calculated frame-up finds Orlowsky blamed for a watch theft, pushing Lozoya to pursue the other half of the treasure map and the cash it promises. A chaotic brawl erupts, and Lozoya ends up cornered in a well. Orlowsky arrives to pull him out, but not before Lozoya is severely chastened. Facing capture, Lozoya is forced to reveal the critical map details by dropping his pants, showing the instructions to Orlowsky. The con artist then incapacitates him with drink and proceeds to dig.
The pursuit expands beyond the tavern. Randall and his men capture Lozoya’s sister, Lupita, and torment her for information, while her son Miguelito scrambles to disclose Lozoya’s whereabouts to save his mother. In the meantime, Lozoya regains some strength and rallies several men to ambush Orlowsky. The rescue comes in a dramatic moment when Huerta arrives, ties the pair together, and leaves them guarded. Mary intervenes to rescue them, and the trio heads toward San Tomas. Along the way they stumble upon the lifeless remains of Lupita and Miguelito, a painful blow that hardens Lozoya’s resolve: he swears to kill as many “regulares” as there are hairs on his sister’s head.
This brutal trail leads to General Huerta, who has also seized control of the treasure. Lozoya’s moral compass, however, is not easily bent; he chooses to direct the wealth toward medicine, schools, and hospitals, insisting he cannot betray his people. Orlowsky voices his own impatience, muttering that he never leaves empty-handed, and he betrays Lozoya to Huerta for a sum of $30,000. What follows is a staged hero’s death: Lozoya is executed after an impassioned speech about freedom—“For those who love freedom no idol is necessary, for those who do not, no idol is sufficient”—but the scene is a ruse, designed to mislead and manipulate the moment.
In a final reversal, Lozoya’s supposed execution becomes a cover for a larger plan as Orlowsky triggers explosives that destroy soldiers and Huerta. Randall and his men close in, but they are killed, aided by a seemingly resurrected Lozoya. The two rogues then divide the reward money, with Lozoya declaring himself relieved to be “an honest bandit” once more.
As the dust settles, Mary reemerges with a suggestion to carry their revolutionary momentum beyond the border, hinting at Guatemala, and the pair ride off together, leaving the immediate conflicts behind as a new chapter looms on the horizon.
