When a Mexican crime boss (Kris Kristofferson) learns that his aide, Alfredo Garcia, has impregnated his daughter, he offers a million dollars for Garcia's head. Eager to collect, a couple of bounty hunters (Helmut Dantine, Gig Young) track him to a Mexico City bar run by an American expatriate named Bennie (Warren Oates). Bennie denies knowing Garcia and attempts to bring in the head himself after learning from his girlfriend (Robert Webber) that Garcia has died in a car accident.