A woman is trapped during a storm in a house with no electricity or phone. A killer has murdered her sister, stuffed the body in the basement, and is now after her.

Amiable con man Jack Cooper is on a westbound stagecoach, headed for the next batch of suckers who will mistake him for an easy mark. Fiery Sarah O'Rourke rides the same coach, handcuffed to lawman Bill Speakes and headed for the hangman. In a few hours, all should reach their destinations. But the trail they travel takes an unexpected turn: Cooper and O'Rourke are soon off the stage and running for their lives. The law ends and the chase begins in a very alive tale of wanted-dead-or-alive fugitives (Linda Fiorentino and Craig Sheffer) pursued by a marshal (Sam Elliott) who's a law unto himself.