In the modern day, a young traveler stops at a remote New Mexico gas station and strikes up a conversation with an older local man. The old man begins to recount the gritty, historical legend of Billy the Kid (Steve Railsback) and his final, deadly showdown with Sheriff Pat Garrett (Jack Elam). As the elder speaks, the film shifts entirely into a flashback, dramatizing the outlaw's infamous final escape from the Lincoln County Courthouse.