Fan Casting

In 1881, a female gunslinger known only as The Lady arrives in the Old West town of Redemption, where she enters a single elimination quick-draw contest held by Redemption's ruthless mayor and former outlaw, John Herod. She encounters the Blind Shoeshine Boy and a repulsive escaped convict named Scars, whose proposition she harshly rebuffs. At a sign-up meeting in the town saloon that night, the rules are explained: any contestant may challenge any other, no challenge can be refused, every contestant must fight once per day, and a fight continues until one contestant either yields or dies. While there she meets Cort, a former Herod henchman turned preacher whom Herod has captured and forced to enter the contest. The Lady saves Cort's life by shooting through the rope with which Herod's men try to hang him, then drunkenly spends the night with "The Kid", a brash young man who runs a gun store and hopes to impress Herod. Believing Herod to be his father, The Kid hopes to earn his respect by entering and winning the tournament. In the first round of duels, The Kid defeats a Swedish quick-draw champion while Herod kills a braggart named Ace Hanlon, who had taken credit for some of Herod's own accomplishments. The Lady defeats Dog Kelly, an enemy she had previously left shackled to a wagon. Since Cort has no money, Herod buys him a cheap, rusty gun and declares that he can only have one bullet at a time so that he cannot shoot his way out of town. Even though Cort has renounced violence, he draws on his exceptional skill as a gunfighter and wins his first-round duel. Before the second round begins, Herod meets with Clay Cantrell, a professional gunfighter hired by the townspeople to kill him. Before they duel, Herod changes the rules and proclaims that all contests are now to the death. After killing Cantrell, Herod angrily addresses the townspeople and informs them that he will continue to raise his taxes on them until they understand that he is in charge of everything. During a rainstorm that evening The Lady faces off with Eugene Dred after he rapes the saloon owner's young daughter. She shoots him in the genitals but spares his life and returns to the bar, but Dred ambushes her and she is ultimately forced to kill him. The next day, Cort is slated to fight Spotted Horse, a Native American who claims he "cannot be killed by a bullet". The Lady, still upset over killing Dred the night before, saddles up and rides out of town before Cort's fight. Cort narrowly beats Spotted Horse after having to beg for a second bullet. The Lady is found at a nearby cemetery by Doc Wallace, who tells her that he recognizes her and knows why she is there. During flashbacks, it is revealed that the Lady's real name is Ellen, and her father used to be the Marshal in Redemption until Herod invaded, killed all the deputies and had him strung up. Herod gave Ellen a pistol and three shots to try and break the rope her father was hanging from, but she accidentally killed him. Doc Wallace tells her that Herod's men dug up her father's body, burned it, and smashed his tombstone. He hands Ellen her father's old badge and begs her to come back and help rid the town of Herod, as she and Cort are now Redemption's only hope. Ellen rides back to town and accosts Cort, securing his help in ridding the town of Herod. The Lady directly challenges Herod but is sickened to hear that he has already accepted a fight against The Kid. Ellen and Cort are the only other fighters left and are ordered by Herod to face off, threatened with execution if neither of them draws on the other. The Kid turns down Herod's suggestion to withdraw from the contest; during their duel, Herod kills The Kid while suffering a wound to the neck. When Cort and Ellen face off, Cort begs her to kill him, then draws and fires on her. Doc Wallace declares Ellen dead; Cort angrily demands to fight Herod immediately, but settles for dawn of the next day. Ratsy, one of Herod's henchmen, beats Cort severely that night and breaks his right hand. The next morning, Herod angrily dismisses Ratsy from his service upon seeing Cort's injury, then kills him with a rifle as he tries to flee. He offers to fight Cort left-handed, but tells his henchmen to kill Cort if he wins. At the moment Herod draws, several buildings explode, including Herod's house and the clock tower. Ellen emerges from the smoke and flames, having faked her death with help from Cort, Doc Wallace, and a bottle of red ink procured from the Blind Boy and having used The Kid's stash of dynamite. Cort kills Herod's men, and Ellen faces off against Herod, revealing her identity by throwing her father's badge at his feet. Herod wounds Ellen, but she shoots him through the chest, stunning him, and finishes him off with a bullet to the eye. Tossing the badge to Cort, she says, "The law's come back to town," then saddles up and rides away.