Drifter John Smith (Bruce Willis), who on arriving in a dusty border town in 1930s Texas for the night finds it to be divided between two gangs from Chicago who are in the midst of a brief pause in hostilities; The Irish led by Doyle (David Patrick Kelly) and his psychopathic associate Hickey (Christopher Walken) and the Italians led by Stozzi (Ned Eisenberg). Almost immediately Smith manages to embroil himself in the middle of the feud by looking at Doyle’s girl in a manner deemed inappropriate by the Irishman (and crashing his car in the process). Wandering into a local shop he gets the background on the town, gangs and the local corrupt sheriff (Bruce Dem) and starts to see a business opportunity. This opportunity sets the stage for the film in which Smith attempts to play both sides without prejudice except for his own financial gain, but as the films opening lines state “It's a funny thing, no matter how low you sink, there's still a right and a wrong...”.