In1909,amidstthedyingoldwest,WillieBoy,alongdistanceDesertRunnerbyChemehuevitradition,fallsinlovewithyoungnativebeauty,Carlota.Carlota'sfather,aChemehuevishamanandlocaltriballeader,refusestolettheyoungcouplebetogether.Inafatalconfrontation,Carlota'sfatherfallsdeadtoanaccidentalgunshotandtheyoungloversfleetothesunenslavedMohavedesert.ThelocalsheriffleadsamountedpossearmedwithfirepowerandtwoNativeAmericantrackersseekingjusticefortheir"murdered"triballeader.WillieBoyandCarlotaevadecaptureoutlastingthemenandtheirhorses.However,fakenewsstoriesmeanttosellpapersaddstothemountingpressuretocaptureWillieBoy.Inadesertthatpurifiesall,thesearchforWillieBoyforceseveryonetofacetheirowndemonsinthistragictaleoflove,death,anddesertheat.
