When a band of outlaws kill a wealthy rancher during an attempted bank robbery in a small Texan town, they are arrested and sentenced to death by the gallows.
Posing as a hangman, Mace Bishop (James Stewart) arrives in town with the intention of freeing the gang, including his brother, Dee (Dean Martin).
On the run, the two brothers kidnap a young girl called Maria (Raquel Welch) to take along as a hostage on their frantic bid for freedom while Mace urges his younger brother to give up crime.
However the town's sheriff is hot their tail as the brothers head for Mexico. They join forces, however, against a group of Mexican bandits who mortally wound both brothers.