The time is 1883. The place is Mescal, a small Southwestern town gripped in terror by a knife-wielding killer with a hatred of beautiful young women. Marshal Colcord is unable to solve the murders so an outside investigator named Ed Burns is brought in and immediately ruffles the Marshal's feathers. After butting heads and beating the hell out of one another, the two lawmen finally decide to cooperate. Uncovering a trail of clues that puts them closer to the murderer's identity, can they catch the killer in time before the next murder?