Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

A tough police detective escapes from custody handcuffed to a foul-mouthed car thief after being framed for the murder of his ex-wife. He must now find the real killer and prove his innocence.

In this strange western version of JAWS, Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream. Hickok moves through a variety of uniquely authentic western locations – dim, filthy, makeshift taverns; freezing, slaughterhouse-like frontier towns and beautifully desolate high country – before improbably teaming up with a young Crazy Horse to pursue the creature.