After a family is murdered near a remote western town, a US Federal Marshall is sent to investigate. He discovers that the town and surrounding farms is emptying, due in part to the threat of a psychopath having been let loose on the residents. The Marshall has to discover not only who is the killer and how to stop him; but also who let him loose and why.

Today's the day the Missouri madman Otis Boyle finally gets executed. The Warden and his Captain of the Guards, York, have been looking forward to this for years, but they could never have prepared themselves for his last request. As Warden insists upon fulfilling their most notorious inmate's twisted demand in the name of "tradition" and "protocol," York struggles to keep up in order to keep his job -- no matter how much it asks of him.