Mercury Plains

Mitch Davis travels south with a friend for a getaway in Mexico. A night in a dim bar spirals into trouble when the friend hires a prostitute and bolts, leaving Mitch with an overwhelming debt. When he refuses to pay the pimp, he is beaten and robbed.

A fellow American, Jesse, buys him a meal and offers a possible way out: a job with The Captain, an American veteran who runs a vigilante group. Mitch is drawn by the chance to escape his dead end life and seize some power. The recruitment pitch hints that confronting lawlessness is part of taking control.

At The Captain’s compound, Mitch meets Camarillo, Alyssa, Paul, Benito, and the Captain’s son Jack. The Captain’s first assignment is to dig a ditch, a brutal initiation into the group’s discipline. Tensions flare when Benito is bitten by a scorpion and Camarillo forces Mitch back to work.

Camarillo orders Paul to hurt Mitch, and a shocked Mitch is knocked out with a Taser. He wakes trapped in a thick wooden box with only scant rations, determined to improvise to survive. After a day, he tears loose a panel and tunnels out, earning grudging respect from the crew.

Rejoining the group, Mitch earns respect for his resourcefulness. Alyssa is drawn to him, and they share a private moment that deepens the dangerous bond within the crew.

The Captain explains a harsh philosophy: lawlessness can elevate ordinary men to power, but those men must fight the chaos they create to keep it. He quietly questions whether Mitch is sleeping with Alyssa; Mitch denies it, and the Captain accepts the answer for the moment.

Disguised as federal agents, they target a cartel courier named Brad and discover no drugs on him. In the struggle Brad reaches for Paul’s gun and is fatally shot; Mitch argues to spare him, while Camarillo orders them to leave him to die. Benito later steals Brad’s shirt, and a letter found with the clothing reveals Brad’s loving parents.

With money from Brad’s cards, they buy more firearms and gear. They stage a bold ambush, disguising themselves as FBI agents and stopping a cartel car, but the federales intervene, turning the operation into a deadly firefight. Jesse is killed and Paul is fatally wounded as the group escapes with a suitcase full of cash.

A police raid on the Captain's compound sends Mitch, the Captain, and Camarillo fleeing in Mitch’s car. A newspaper headline confirms Jack has died in the clash, and everyone realizes Benito was a police informer.

The trio tracks Benito to a remote area, and the Captain drags Benito away as Mitch hesitates. He finally acts and strangles Camarillo to stop the unfolding disaster.

The Captain kills Benito as Mitch, wounded, escapes with the money across the desert. A long desert chase ensues as the Captain pursues him and argues that war is a force that lets men express themselves.

In the final confrontation, Mitch uses a small, single-shot pistol that Benito once favored to kill The Captain and end the immediate threat. He returns to the city, buys new clothes, and quietly leaves the money with Brad’s grieving parents, completing his perilous journey from aimless discontent to survival.