On the dry outskirts of El Paso, a crop duster named Scott Swenson [Max von Sydow] accidentally flies into a shallow pipe buried just beneath the dirt landing area across the Mexican border, and the resulting disturbance knocks a water tower to the ground. In the confusion that follows, he spots his friend Frank Bryant [Efrem Zimbalist Jr.] in a car with a woman, a sight that drags him deeper into a risky plan. Bryant’s face later appears on a $50,000 reward poster, turning a local accident into a potential payday for anyone who helps bring him in.
To cover the damage and cash in on the reward, Svenson partners with Captain Carbajal [Gilbert Roland], a local lawman, and proposes they pursue Bryant together so they can split the bounty. A posse is formed to back the pursuit, led by Sgt. Lopez [Emilio Fernández], along with Joaquin [Henry Silva] and a young dreamer named Luis [Nino Castelnuovo], who longs to become a bullfighter. The target of their hunt is Bryant, who is seen with a woman named Sylvia [Yvette Mimieux], and the chase quickly becomes more than a simple capture.
As the search intensifies, Lopez learns of the substantial reward and starts pressing for a larger share of the loot for his own efforts, which sours the team’s sense of teamwork and loyalty. Joaquin makes the surprising choice to help Bryant and Sylvia escape, trusting them to slip away from the clutches of the law. The plan falters when Lopez reacts with cold calculation: he shoots and kills both Bryant and Joaquin, shattering any pretense of honor among the pursuers.
With the birds of prey scattering, Luis makes a desperate attempt to round up the posse’s horses, but the effort proves fatal. The chase pivots into a grimmer phase as Carbajal falls ill with malaria, severely weakening the mission and his own ability to lead. What remains of Svenson and the woman, Sylvia, are left with little option but to trek back toward town on foot, hoping to survive the long, uncertain path ahead.
In this tense, morally charged drama, the line between duty and greed blurs as a single accident spirals into a deadly contest over loyalty, fortune, and fate. The harsh desert environment mirrors the characters’ brittle egos, and the pursuit ends not with a clear victory but with a cascade of losses that leave the survivors to reckon with the consequences of their choices.
