In 1873, a young drifter, the "Englishman's boy" joins a group of wolf hunters led by the brutal Hardwick on the trail of horse thieves. In 1920s Hollywood, writer Harry Vincent is engaged by movie mogul Damon Ira Chance to track down Shorty McAdoo, an old-time Western actor whose story will be the basis of the producer's new film.

Hardwick provokes his posse into the brutal Cypress Hills massacre. The Boy survives but is tortured by what he has seen. Old-time Western actor Shorty McAdoo is betrayed by both movie mogul Chance and Hollywood writer Vincent, and is driven to seek revenge.