The relentless sun beats down upon the scorched, barren ground of the Arizona desert. Three men, cut from the same cloth, walk along a path visible only to them. In the lead, Al Sieber, the mentor of the other two, John Slaughter and the Apache Kid, purposefully hides his pride in their abilities. He knows that even the slightest distraction may result in their death.
Just as in nature, events can defy explanation. Sieber, Slaughter and the Kid spend many days and nights together, relying on each others skills to stay alive. But when those same skills are used to murder men, women, and children, and a bullet finds Siebers knee, the Kid becomes the hunted instead of the hunter. Unable to find a sense of order in the Kids actions, Sieber commits his life to bringing him to justice. Disillusioned by how easily a respected peer changes from good to evil, John Slaughter retires to a solitary life.
The Apache Kid, feared and despised by both his own people and the white settlers of the West, continued killing with ease, relying on the skills so masterfully honed under his teacher. Everyone knew of the Apache Kid, and his reputation brought fear to even the most courageous of men. In the lonely isolation of the desert called the Muerte, or Death, a mans cry may echo unanswered for miles. This desolation seemed only to amplify the enigma of the Kid.
In a small town, fate reunites the former friends. An onslaught of killing and carnage in the town leads the sheriff and his posse into the Muerte, while hunting down the Apache Kid. The sheriff is murdered, and the town turns to Al Sieber for deliverance. Sieber is keenly aware that his former protg, John Slaughter, is the only man with the skills to bring down the predator. But Slaughters doubts himself and refuses to join in the chase with Sieber, who knows that he cant succeed without him. Through manipulation, a few fortunate turns of fate, and mounting pressure from a desperate town, Slaughter fulfills his destiny. A reluctant hero, he enters the Muerte to save both a town and himself. Sieber, the master tracker, follows Slaughter into the desert, the line between teacher and student erased.
In the palpable heat of the Muerte, the vultures circle overhead as the men confront the Kid for the first time. Like chess-players, always thinking three moves ahead, courage and cunning inform their every move. Students and teacher no more, the game of life and death begins.