In 1909, amidst the dying old west, Willie Boy, a long distance Desert Runner by Chemehuevi tradition, falls in love with young native beauty, Carlota. Carlota's father, a Chemehuevi shaman and local tribal leader, refuses to let the young couple be together. In a fatal confrontation, Carlota's father falls dead to an accidental gun shot and the young lovers flee to the sun enslaved Mohave desert. The local sheriff leads a mounted posse armed with fire power and two Native American trackers seeking justice for their murdered tribal leader. Willie Boy and Carlota evade capture outlasting the men and their horses. However, fake news stories meant to sell papers adds to the mounting pressure to capture Willie Boy. In a desert that purifies all, the search for Willie Boy forces everyone to face their own demons in this tragic tale of love, death, and desert heat.
故事发生在一九五一年的德克萨斯州，老牛仔桑姆（本·约翰逊 Ben Johnson 饰）在此地经营着一家电影院，成为了当地年轻人们回忆里无法抹去的一笔亮色。高中生索尼（蒂姆斯·伯特姆斯 Timothy Bottoms 饰）和好友裘安（杰夫·布里吉斯 Jeff Bridge s 饰）是电影院里的常客，和桑姆亦是非常投机的朋友。 索尼经历过几场无疾而终的恋爱，心灵深深受到了震撼，他和裘安同时爱上了热情奔放的女孩杰西（斯碧尔·谢波德 Cybill Shepherd 饰），然而杰西最终选择了索尼，这令裘安感到十分伤心，选择了离开。桑姆去世的消息带给了索尼很大的打击，在桑姆的电影院里，索尼和裘安一起看了最后一场电影，这亦是电影院所放映的最后一场电影。
