A black-clad gunslinger and his young son wander through the desert, encountering a massacre at a village. The gunslinger, after defeating the assailants, embarks on a journey to track down and challenge four master gunfighters, intending to become the greatest gunfighter himself. He leaves his son with a group of monks, taking along a rescued woman who becomes his companion. Their journey is marked by bizarre and symbolic episodes, including duels that test not only his shooting skills but also his philosophical outlook on life and death. As he defeats each master, he starts questioning the nature of his own existence.

The gunslinger's quest leads him through a series of surreal landscapes and encounters that blur the lines between reality, myth, and dream. Eventually, he is betrayed, left severely wounded, and taken in by an underground community of deformed outcasts. Awakening years later, he decides to help the outcasts escape their subterranean trap, undergoing a deep transformation in his beliefs and actions. His newfound mission brings him back to confront his past, his initial goals, and the choices he made, leading to a dramatic confrontation and resolution that ties together the film's themes of violence, redemption, and enlightenment.