The Bounty Killer

Willie Duggan, a stalwart Vermonter, traverses the vast expanse of the American West via stagecoach, his pride and dignity intact despite his pecuniary woes. Upon arrival in Silver Creek, he forms an unlikely camaraderie with the enigmatic "captain," only to be brutally pummeled for daring to converse with the alluring Carole Ridgeway (character). The beating is abruptly terminated by Johnny Liam, who dispatches Duggan's tormentor with a well-placed bullet. With his assailant vanquished, Duggan secures employment with a transportation company, ferrying the valuable payroll of the local miners.

When he and his trusted sidekick, Luther, are ambushed during one of these deliveries, Duggan proves himself to be a formidable marksman, dispatching the would-be thief. This action sets in motion a chain of events that sees Duggan and Luther transforming into bounty hunters, driven by the promise of rewards for their services. Their early successes include the capture of notorious outlaw Mike Clayman (character), but this triumph is short-lived, as his vengeful henchmen track down and slaughter Luther, leaving Duggan gravely wounded.

As he recovers from his ordeal in the care of Carole Ridgeway, Duggan becomes consumed by a burning desire for vengeance, resolving to eliminate every outlaw that dares to cross his path. In this quest, he sets his sights on Johnny Liam's younger brother, as well as the infamous outlaw himself. In his zeal, Duggan ultimately commits a grave mistake, taking the life of an innocent man and thereby crossing the moral threshold into criminal territory.

As he prepares to elope with Carole, Duggan is ambushed and slain by a bounty hunter, a fittingly ironic conclusion to a tale of violence and redemption that has seen our protagonist's transformation from a well-meaning but naive hero to a ruthless vigilante.