From back cover, "Jack Nicholson and Monte Hellman star in this timeless cult classic, written and produced by Nicolsen this western tells the tale of how an innocent man becomes an outlaw. Three cowboys are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and are mistaken for a gang of robbers by a band of vigilantes. Two of the cowboys are killed and the last is forced to become an outlaw himself, if he is to stay alive."