William Blake, a young man in search of a fresh start, travels west during the latter half of the nineteenth century to a frontier town to take a post as an accountant. Upon his arrival, he's told the job is no longer available. That night he takes up with a prostitute. When her jealous ex-boyfriend surprises them in bed, Blake is wounded, while the prostitute and the ex end up dead. A wanted man, Blake retreats to the nearby woods, running into sympathetic Native American named "Nobody" who informs Blake that the bullet in his chest cannot be removed. His death certain, Nobody teaches Blake to face the dangers that follow a "dead man."