The Last Sunset

Brendan O'Malley slips across the border to escape a murder charge and arrives at Belle Breckenridge's ranch on the Mexican side. He declares his determination to win back Belle and restart his life. Sheriff Dana Stribling is pursuing him, adding immediate danger to his return.

Brendan makes the acquaintance of Belle Breckenridge's daughter, Melissa, at the ranch. The encounter introduces a new emotional dynamic as Brendan contends with his past and his longing for Belle. Melissa's presence foreshadows later complications.

Belle's husband, John Breckenridge, arrives with his herd and hires O'Malley to drive it to Crazy Horse, Texas. O'Malley agrees on the condition that he receives one fifth of the herd and that he will claim Belle after the drive ends. Breckenridge doesn't take him seriously, setting up a power dynamic for the journey.

Sheriff Dana Stribling arrives at the ranch to serve a murder warrant but finds he cannot arrest O'Malley in Mexico. He agrees to join the cattle drive to Texas and promises to hand O'Malley over upon arrival, blurring the line between lawman and pursuer. This alliance complicates O'Malley's hopes of evading capture.

During the drive, Breckenridge splits from the group and goes to a bar where he gets drunk. The bar becomes the setting for a moment of reckoning, as the past shadows his present. His vulnerability foreshadows a violent confrontation to come.

Two former Confederates confront Breckenridge, accusing him of cowardice. In the ensuing trouble, Breckenridge is shot in the back while trying to leave the bar. Stribling and O'Malley kill the shooter and bury Breckenridge back at the cattle drive camp.

As the journey continues, Sheriff Stribling and Belle grow attracted to each other and start planning a future together, complicating loyalties on the trail. O'Malley feels crushed by the budding romance and withdraws emotionally. The evolving relationships add tension to the group dynamics.

O'Malley finds himself drawn to Missy, Belle’s daughter, and she reassures him that their age difference may not matter. He begins a new emotional attachment as the drive continues, complicating his plan to win Belle back. The relationship deepens the internal conflict as loyalties shift.

O'Malley discovers that the man he killed was Stribling’s brother-in-law and that Stribling's sister hanged herself after her husband's death. This revelation intensifies the sense of tragedy and vengeance between the two men. It complicates the potential for reconciliation as the past hems them in.

The group reaches Texas after a brief fiesta, where O'Malley sees Missy in the same yellow dress Belle wore when they first met. He and Missy confess their love, offering a glimmer of hope amid mounting tensions. Belle's past romance with O'Malley resurfaces in parallel with the present conflict.

The day after, Belle pleads with Stribling to refrain from publicly confronting O'Malley, indicating a shift toward keeping the peace or personal loyalties over law. Stribling wrestles with mixed feelings but ultimately hesitates to back down. The tension between love and justice remains unresolved.

On the eve of the gunfight, Belle discloses the devastating secret: Missy is O'Malley's daughter, making their romance incestuous and impossible. O'Malley is stunned but refuses to fully believe her at first. He spends the day with Missy and resolves to leave with her.

O'Malley goes to the climactic gunfight with Stribling and is killed by Stribling. Upon inspecting O'Malley's gun, Stribling discovers the pistol is unloaded, realizing O'Malley effectively committed suicide by facing the duel anyway. The tragedy closes with law and vengeance intertwined.