This film opens with a young man known simply as "the Preacher" (played by Kevin Sorbo) arriving to minister at a new church just outside a small town. Naturally, since it's his very first sermon, the preacher's wife and young daughter are also in the congregation. Meanwhile, a ruthless cattle baron named "Colonel Cusack" (Wings Hauser) has sent an armed group of cowboys to murder some settlers occupying land that he wants for himself. While the massacre unfolds, a couple of settlers manage to temporarily escape by riding to the church a short distance away. Unfortunately, no sooner do they enter the church than these same murderous cowboys ride up and demand that they be handed over. Upon refusing to do so, the church is set ablaze, and the preacher's wife and daughter are killed in the fire. The scene then picks up a year later, with the preacher now an extremely skilled bounty hunter. As it turns out, he is bringing the bodies of three wanted outlaws to that same small town to collect his reward. Upon obtaining the bounties at the local sheriff's office, he ventures to the saloon for a beer. While there, he observes a young barmaid being mistreated by some cowboys and tries to help her, but he is ultimately beaten unconscious for his efforts and dragged outside into the middle of the street. Having observed the entire incident, a young woman working in the saloon named "Maggie" (Cynthia Watros) takes pity on him and lets him stay at her small home until he regains his health. What neither of them realize, however, is that the same scenario the preacher encountered a year earlier is about to be played out again, with the new victims being another small group of settlers who have settled on land that Colonel Cusack wants for his own. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a fairly entertaining Western that benefited from good performances by Kevin Sorbo and Cynthia Watros. Admittedly, I would have preferred a bit more chemistry between the two of them, but since it was a made-for-television production, I guess that's to be expected. In any case, I enjoyed this film for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
