This is a Western you have to stick with beyond the opening where it has the feel of a low budget movie. It picks up when two church ladies arrive at the cabin of a couple desperate looking hombres, Michael (Trace Adkins) and Angel (Jeff Fahey). I really liked the characterization Trace Adkins brought to his bounty hunter type character, speaking in a very low key, guttural voice and making you wonder when he might explode into violence. That eventually happens, but the story keeps you wondering about him and Angel, and when they might eventually take advantage of former prostitute Elizabeth (Victoria Pratt) and her younger associate Kara (Spencer Locke). The two women were forced to flee the town of Ruby when Pinkerton mercenaries led by Thomas Barclay (James Russo) killed the town's priest on behalf of the Miller Colfax Mining Company in response to the local miners striking for higher wages and better working conditions. Accepting the women's offer of murdered Father Callahan's (Tom Berenger) life savings to deliver them to safety, Michael and Angel retrieve their cache of weapons and ammunition to take on an errand of mercy that would result in violence and bloodshed. The story almost lost its way when Michael expressed his doubts about following through with the mission by absconding with the money until his partner reminded him of the code they swore by after Angels' wife and daughter were killed years prior. Angel's resolve is made even more determined by the uncanny resemblance of Kara to his own murdered daughter, a point that could have been exploited if Michael hadn't reminded him that his daughter was really dead. Don't expect a nice and tidy outcome for this Western, as a few things go awry on the way to a final denouement. Though Pinkerton boss Barclay meets his demise at the hands of Michael after one of his henchmen murders Elizabeth, Angel suffers a gut shot that would prove fatal as well. Wounded during an exchange with Barclay, Michael recovers enough to finally bring Kara to safety in a bittersweet ending to this tale of frontier justice.
P. S. For some reason, the character names for Trace Adkins, Victoria Pratt, and Spencer Locke are omitted from the cast list and left blank here on IMDb. My attempt to add them was unsuccessful as the fields to make the correction are blocked.
P. S. For some reason, the character names for Trace Adkins, Victoria Pratt, and Spencer Locke are omitted from the cast list and left blank here on IMDb. My attempt to add them was unsuccessful as the fields to make the correction are blocked.