“You leave my brother-in-law right where he is. You do that, turn and ride your asses off my property and I’ll let you live.”
“Last chance, Al. The hellstorm you fixing to let loose. You have no idea. Where did he get to?”
“I DON’T KNOW.”
“[screaming]”
“GET THE ROPE. I SWEAR. Is that everything you have to say on the matter? Just cut me loose.”
“Get on up. You’re loose. And that just violates my safety.”
Elsewhere, farmer Henry McCarty lives a quiet life with his teenage son Wyatt. Henry once lived in New York and traveled widely before settling down in Oklahoma. He lost his wife to tuberculosis, but her brother Al often visits to help on the farm and be a caring uncle to Wyatt.
Life is calm and simple, though tension often arises because Wyatt dreams of traveling and learning how to use a gun, something Henry strictly forbids.
“I ain’t her. Here I thought Foreman was in here. I ain’t got time to render this. Throw it in the pen.”
“Pa? Looky here. What do you think happened? Some kind of robbery? But what if it’s trouble, Pa? I can help you.”
“Go. You tend to this horse and stay inside till I get back. Do as I say. Give me hay. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
Henry and Wyatt place Curry on a bed and treat his wound. That night, Henry hides the gun and the money inside a secret compartment in his closet, unaware that Wyatt is secretly watching through the gap beneath the door.
“Half that rope. Bullet’s got to come out and he won’t make the ride. I’ll fetch the doc.”
“You really think that’s necessary?”
“You’ll stay here and keep an eye on him. Now, you just do as I say. I’ll be back soon as I can. Come on.”
Once Henry is gone, Wyatt sneaks into the closet and discovers the hidden satchel full of money.
Tempted, he takes the gun outside and practices shooting at a bottle. As gunshots echo, Curry begins to stir, haunted by memories of the night his home was burned and his family was murdered while the killer told him to keep his head down. Wyatt later returns the gun to the closet and opens a locked box Henry has hidden for years.
Inside, he finds another gun and newspaper clippings detailing violent crimes from the past.
“Ain’t none of mine. Ain’t none of mine. Curry, you stop moving.”
“Pa!”
“And got hold of my knife I left on the bedstand. Help me tie the son of a [ __ ] back up.”
Henry ties Curry to a chair and wakes him up. Realizing it’s too dangerous to fetch a doctor, Henry heats a knife and removes the bullet himself while questioning the wounded man. Screaming in pain, Curry reveals that he’s a lawman and warns Henry and Wyatt to flee before it’s too late.
“The bullet is finally removed. At least we know you won’t die before I find out what I want to know. Riders. Ugly son of a [ __ ] Mexican.”
“[snorts]”
“We’ve been scouting for a man on the run. I’m Sheriff Sam Ketchum. Lately goes by the name of Curry. He shot my deputies. Been shot. Might also claim he’s the law. 6 ft, brown hair. He’s got a history of such chicanery in Missouri and Tennessee. We’re from way over Woods County. You seen anybody around here answers that description? He’s dangerous.”
“Say you’re a sheriff. How’s it I don’t recognize you?”
“He will kill again.”
“You’re not fixing to shoot any of us with that pistol, are you?”
“So far, I got no reason to.”
“That’s good news. I’ll thank you for your help. You be sure to lock your doors tonight. Looks like another dead end, boys. Stay safe. Come on.”
Once inside, Henry slaps Wyatt for using the gun. Wyatt defends himself, saying he only wanted to know how it feels because he’s the only boy around who was never taught how to shoot, so he had to learn on his own. Henry slaps him again.
Furious, Wyatt calls his father worthless and says Henry will die alone because he plans to leave the farm as soon as he can. Hurt but unwilling to show it, Henry walks away and returns to interrogate Curry. Curry finally tells his side of the story. He says he is the real sheriff and that Ketchum and his men are bank robbers who murdered his deputies and stole both the money and their badges.
Curry managed to recover the stolen money but was shot during the escape, fell from his horse and passed out, waking up later on Henry’s farm. Curry admits he doesn’t understand why Ketchum didn’t kill Henry on the spot, but he’s certain they will return.
“But I can guarantee you they’ll be back.”
“We know Curry’s in there. He didn’t hold that pistol like any farmer I’ve ever seen. You and me, we’re heading to Chickasha. Hire some guns. On the way, we’ll pay a call on farmer Hobbs. Don’t make a move till we get there.”
“Fine.”
Night falls. Henry orders Wyatt inside before finishing his chores, warning him it’s too dangerous to be outside after dark.
Later, Henry personally feeds Curry some soup. Curry complains about still being tied up, so Henry begins asking questions to see if he can trust him. Curry mentions people he once worked and lived with, names Henry recognizes from his traveling days. Curry also apologizes for attacking Wyatt, explaining he panicked after waking up in an unfamiliar place.
Curry says Henry’s face looks familiar, but Henry denies ever meeting him. Still, he loosens one of Curry’s hands. Henry then deliberately leaves his gun on the table and steps away to refill his drink, testing him. Curry doesn’t touch the weapon. Instead, he continues telling stories from his past, including witnessing Billy the Kid being shot.
That’s the voice Curry heard in his earlier nightmare. Seeing Curry’s restraint and hearing his stories finally convinces Henry. He unties Curry completely, returns his gun, and tells him to leave before the criminals come back. But there’s no time. Suddenly, gunfire erupts as Dugan starts shooting through the window.
Curry fires back and Wyatt rushes in, only to have a bullet graze his arm. Still weak from his injury, Curry collapses unconscious. Henry grabs his gun as Dugan crawls beneath the house, firing through the floor whenever Henry moves. Thinking fast, Henry hands the gun to Wyatt and gives him quick shooting instructions.
He throws a book across the floor.
“[groaning]”
Henry kills him. To dispose of the body, Henry feeds it to the pigs after noticing a gang mark branded on Dugan’s skin. Later, Henry treats Wyatt’s wounded arm while avoiding questions about his past. Wyatt says his father doesn’t respect him and without respect, Henry can’t expect obedience in return.
After checking on Curry, who is once again dreaming of the fire, Henry steps outside with his rifle and waits, fully expecting the worst to come.
“Something help you with? Morning.”
“Morning. Can I help you with mister?”
“I wanted to ask you a couple questions about brother-in-law.”
“Well, I think it’s time you left.”
Back at the farm, Henry and Wyatt help Curry get dressed so he can finally leave.
But Curry is barely able to walk, let alone ride a horse. Realizing he would only slow them down, Curry insists that Henry and Wyatt leave while he stays behind to finish things. Wyatt wants to remain and defend his home, but Henry agrees with Curry and prepares his son to go.
“You get to me and you get me out of here. I’ll hold them off as long as I can. You take your boy, you get out of here.”
“Philip Pack, we’re leaving. We got guns. You already killed one of them bare handed.”
As they step outside, they’re met with a terrifying surprise. Ketchum and Stillwell have returned, this time with a group of hired gunmen. Henry and Wyatt rush back inside as Ketchum calls out offering them a deal.
If they hand over Curry, he promises to let them walk away unharmed. Henry refuses, so Ketchum escalates the situation, revealing that they’ve captured Al, who is badly injured and bleeding. Enraged, Henry grabs his rifle and hands Wyatt the gun, ordering him to stay inside away from the windows and to shoot only if absolutely necessary.
Ignoring Curry’s pleas to be handed over, suspicions about who you are, Henry McCarty.
“That name sticks in me like a thorn.”
“Now, I’m no sheriff.”
“Last offer. This tongue-tied piece of [ __ ] for Sheriff Curry in there and the money. I get what I want, you get what you want. Blood spilled, not that boy of yours I see surveilling all this through that window.”
“You leave my brother-in-law right where he is. You do that, turn and ride your asses off my property, and I’ll let you live.”
“Last chance, Al. The hell storm you fixing to let loose, you have no idea.”
He rushes outside and starts shooting. Henry quickly drags him back inside as the gang fires back, one of the bullets striking Curry in the leg when he steps too close to the window.
After yelling at Wyatt for acting without thinking, Henry tells him to keep his head down. Hearing those exact words, the same ones from his nightmare, Curry finally understands the truth. Henry McCarty is Billy the Kid. He didn’t die in the fire, he escaped. Henry ignores him. Instead, he retrieves his old gun and holster, then steps outside.
After a few cold words, he opens fire. With deadly precision, Henry kills several gang members before diving back into the house through a window, blowing a hole large enough for Curry to shoot a few men as well. As the remaining gunmen begin to surround the house,
“Huh?”
Henry makes it back to the farm and goes to help Curry.
While tearing off Curry’s sleeve to examine his arm, Henry discovers something shocking. Curry bears the same gang mark as Dugan. Realizing he’s been exposed, Curry shoots Henry. Curry admits the truth. He really was a sheriff, but a corrupt one. He and his deputies had worked with Ketchum before. When they learned Ketchum planned to kill them during their last job, Curry tried to run and everything spiraled from there.
Henry is badly wounded, but still alive. Curry wants the satisfaction of being the man who killed Billy the Kid. Before he can pull the trigger again, Wyatt appears and shoots Curry dead. Wyatt rushes to help his father, insisting on getting a doctor, but Henry knows it’s too late. He asks for a moment to speak.
He tells Wyatt that when he goes out into the world, he’ll hear many stories about Billy the Kid, and only half of them will be true. He admits he wasn’t a good man and doesn’t believe in redemption. All he ever wanted was peace, and raising a good son was the closest he could come to it. Henry says he doesn’t belong in this new world, but Wyatt does.
“There’s a place I don’t belong. I’m hoping you do.”
After mourning his father, Wyatt buries him beside his mother. When he’s finally ready, he packs his belongings, mounts his horse, and rides away from the farm, free to travel the world he always dreamed of seeing.
