In the border town of Boiled Beef, Texas, in 1872, a bandit who is wanted by authorities terrorizes the town - but a pig-headed deputy thinks he has a way to capture him.
When a hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he is seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.
Famed reporter Stephen O'Malley travels to a small town to investigate the death of a national hero.