The Desperate Trail

A stagecoach carrying Marshal Bill Speakes and his prisoner Sarah O'Rourke is ambushed by three highwaymen on the old West road. The marshal regains control, but one bandit climbs aboard; Sarah grabs his gun and, with Speakes, shoots him. The strongbox is opened and Sarah aims to flee with the cash, but Jack Cooper wrestles her gun away and runs off with the money.

Jack heads to a nearby town and takes a prostitute up to his room. Sarah arrives, gets the drop on him, and escorts him to the lobby to retrieve the money from the safe; however both are surprised by the Marshal and Mr. Hollister. In the ensuing shootout, Jack and Sarah escape.

Jack and Sarah hatch a scheme to rob a bank. They obtain cash by winning a poker game after Sarah shoots most of the other players, securing funds for the robbery. The alliance grows as they move toward the bank job.

Marshal Speakes rallies a posse to chase the fugitives across the territory. A roadside shootout ensues and Jack is wounded, but Sarah saves him, and they ride off together again.

Hollister has been shot and is acting incoherently, so Speakes kills him, revealing his willingness to cross brutal lines. The brutal moment underscores the darker tone of the pursuit.

As Jack and Sarah grow closer, she reveals that the person she was to be hanged for killing was actually the Marshal's son, who had beaten her. The admission deepens their complicated bond and moral ambiguity.

The fugitives reach Walter's ranch, hoping to find shelter and a plan to help Sarah. The landscape shifts from pursuit to relative safety as they consider their next move.

In town, Jack goes to fetch Sarah but purposely gets captured, ending up jailed with her. Walter spots a chance to rescue them and plans a bold escape.

Using chemicals given by Walter, Jack breaks out of his cell and the pair slip away by hiding in a large shipping crate in the office area. Walter retrieves the crate the next day and returns them to the ranch.

Sometime later, the posse comes to the ranch and tortures Walter. Jack breaks in and shoots several posse members, triggering a chaotic showdown that leaves most of the posse dead except the Marshal.

Just as Walter is killed by the lawman and Jack is seriously wounded, Sarah distracts the marshal long enough for Jack to fatally shoot him, with Sarah lending a hand to steady the gun.

With the marshal defeated, Jack and Sarah ride off together into the sunset, choosing to face whatever comes next as partners rather than fugitives.