DEATH RIDES A HORSEBill, a young man who witnessed the robbery and murder of his parents when he was just a boy, embarks upon a quest to hunt down the men responsible. Only one of the outlaws, gang leader Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), had been apprehended for the crime and thus, was forced to take the punishment for all four men—a fifteen-year bout of hard labor. Fresh out of the clink, Ryan wants to get even with his former cohorts for leaving him to take the blame all those years in the past. During his search for his one-time partners in crime, Ryan ironically meets up with Bill, the young man in search of revenge, and although they initially clash, the men team up to pursue vengeance.