Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead

Dan Hogan and his gang have robbed a bank for $100,000 in gold bars and rendezvous at the Jackal's Ranch stagecoach way station near the Mexican border. Daisy, Hogan's girlfriend, is tasked with slipping the stolen gold to them. The group waits for her arrival while tensions quietly simmer about the risk of betrayal.

A stranger named Webb shows up, having shot the would-be guide and offering to lead them into Mexico for half the gold. He hints there may be a traitor among the gang, stirring suspicion toward Daisy. The uneasy mood escalates as each member weighs where loyalty lies.

Reed holds the other gang members at gunpoint and shuts down the telegraph, cutting off any outside help or warning. Hogan objects but is overruled as the group is boxed in at the station. The stage is set for a tense stand-off with the travelers and Daisy as prisoners.

Jonathan, the station owner, tries to intimidate Reed into standing down, but Webb steps in to prevent violence. The standoff continues, with the threat of a violent confrontation looming over everyone. The fragile order at the station hangs by a thread.

Daisy reaches the station and Hogan acts decisively, killing Reed. He then offers Reed's share to Webb, but Webb insists on a full half, revealing the power struggle within the group. Suspicion sharpens as alliances shift under the heat of the desert approach.

Rangers arrive and quickly realize the telegraph has been destroyed, indicating something is wrong. Hogan's gang hides their female hostages and themselves, trying to maintain appearances. The tension of capture without risk escalates into a dangerous waiting game.

One of the gang members loses control during an attempted rape and kills one of the women by accident. In a panic, another gangster attacks the killer, and the two of them end up killing each other. The incident shatters any pretense of discipline among the group.

The coachman tries to persuade a passenger to shoot Hogan, but the plan fails and Hogan shoots the coachman in cold resolve. The episode underscores Hogan's ruthless leadership and determination to survive at any cost. With the coachman dead, the group loses a potential ally and gains a more dangerous adversary.

In the morning, Webb leads the remaining gang members, along with a surviving woman and Sandy, Jonathan's granddaughter, into the desert. The group fractures further as supplies and trust dwindle. The harsh landscape becomes a brutal backdrop to their dwindling numbers.

Jonathan alerts the pursuing Rangers about their likely route and sets off to rescue the women. The Rangers catch up with him, and he learns the truth about Webb's identity as Parker, the son of a judge killed by Hogan during the Civil War.

As they trek, the party members die one by one. A woman drowns in quicksand while Hogan watches, unable or unwilling to intervene. The deaths deepen the sense of doom and the destructive consequences of the gang's greed.

Mutual suspicion increases and Hogan becomes separated from the group. Cobra ventures off to look for him, and the remaining captives hold Webb and Sandy at gunpoint, forcing Webb to guide them toward the border. Hogan later returns and kills Cobra for deserting.

Webb uses the disarray to press toward the border, releasing Sandy and pressing Hogan for control. He reminds Hogan that he never discovered the identity of the traitor, provoking further rage. The revelation that Daisy betrayed the group intensifies the stakes of the chase.

Webb finally reveals that Daisy was the traitor all along and that the gold is fake. The sense of betrayal shakes Hogan to his core as the last fuel for pursuit drains away. The motive shifts entirely toward payback rather than treasure.

Webb discloses his true identity and Hogan's death becomes imminent in a final showdown. Webb shoots and kills Hogan, retrieves Sandy, and meets the Rangers and Jonathan. Sandy refuses to surrender Hogan's body for bounty and rides off with Webb, signaling the end of Hogan's tyranny.