Plot

A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

With nothing but profit on his mind, a taciturn American with a lightning-fast right hand rides into San Miguel, a sun-bleached border town where everyone is either rich or dead. As the amoral man with no name discovers that the sleepy town provides the perfect opportunity to make a quick buck, the mysterious stranger soon finds himself caught in the middle of a destructive, long-standing feud. After all, the corrupt Baxters and the murderous Rojos, two feuding families fighting for control, won't let a nameless nobody get a slice of the cake. But the dusty, poncho-clad newcomer has already set his sights on the grand prize--the only way to get it is to play the gangs off against each other in a deadly battle of wits. Of course, no one has pulled such a reckless stunt and lived to tell the tale. How far is a man willing to go for a fistful of dollars?—Nick Riganas

Wandering gunfighter Joe arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among sheriff John Baxter and the three Rojo brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, Joe is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the other.—jag729

A Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) arrives at a little Mexican border town named San Miguel. The Stranger simply observes the events of the town from a distance. The town itself is quite small and only has a few buildings. As the bell tolls, all residents of the town seek safety in their homes.

The Stranger meets Silvanito who runs the town inn and bar. The town is visited by bandits and smugglers from Texas, who cross the border to load up on guns and liquor, which are cheaper in Mexico. Then they return to Texas and sell the same stuff to the Native Americans.

The Stranger is quickly introduced to the feud between two families vying to gain control of the town: the Rojo brothers, consisting of Don Miguel (Antonio Prieto) (the eldest and nominally in charge), Esteban (Sieghardt Rupp) (the most headstrong) and Ramon (Gian Maria Volonte) (the most capable and intelligent), and the family of so-called "town sheriff" John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy), his matriarchal wife, Consuelo (Margherita Lozano), and their son, Antonio (Aldo Sambreli). Rojos own the liquor business and the Baxters own the gun business. Hence the town has 2 bosses. Both gangs pay in dollars. Rojos are the stronger gang due to Ramon.

The Stranger quickly spies an opportunity to make a "fistful of dollars" and decides to play both families against each other. The Stranger kills 4 of Baxter's men who shot at him earlier when he rode into town. The Stranger than makes a deal with Don Miguel to work for the Rojos and gets paid $100 for killing the 4 Baxter men. He gets a room in the Rojo residence, where he finds a woman named Marisol. The Stranger overhears Esteban arguing with Miguel about hiring him and decides to leave the residence. The Stranger stays with Silvanito.

His opportunity comes when a detachment of Mexican soldiers escorting a shipment of gold passes through the town. The gold is ostensibly being delivered to a troop of American soldiers at the border river in exchange for a shipment of modern American weapons. Upon following the Mexican troops, the Stranger watches from hiding as they are massacred by members of the Rojo gang, disguised in American uniforms and led by Ramon Rojo.

After the raid Miguel introduces Ramon to The Stranger. Ramon instantly dislikes him as he believes that The Stranger is a sharpshooter and an intelligent man. The Stranger pretends to leave town saying that he is moving on. Ramon tells Miguel to extend a hand of friendship to the Baxter's. Ramon knows that the US and the Mexican Governments will investigate the massacre and he wants to lie low for the duration, even if it means letting the Baxters do what they want.

The Stranger takes two of the bodies to a nearby cemetery with Silvanito's help and sells information to both sides (for $500 each) that two soldiers survived the attack. Both sides race to the cemetery, the Baxters to get the "survivors" to testify against the Rojos, and the Rojos to silence them. The factions engage in a fierce gunfight, but Ramon manages to kill (as he believes) the "survivors" and Esteban captures John Baxter's son Antonio.

While the Rojos and the Baxters are busy, the Stranger takes the opportunity to search the Rojo hacienda for the Mexican gold, but accidentally knocks out Ramon's beautiful prisoner and unwilling mistress Marisol (Marianne Koch) when she surprises him. He takes her to the Baxters, who arrange for a prisoner swap with the Rojos.

During the hostage exchange, Marisol's son and husband approach her. Ramón orders one of his men, Rubio (Benny Reeves), to kill Marisol's husband, Julio (Daniel Martín), but he is deterred by Silvanito (Pepe Calvo) and the Stranger. The Stranger orders Marisol to go back to Ramón, and her husband to take their son home. He learns from Silvanito that Ramón accused Julio of cheating during a card game and took Marisol as collateral.

That night, while the Rojos are celebrating, the Stranger rides out and frees Marisol, shooting the guards and wrecking the house to make it look like it was attacked by a large band. The Stranger tells Marisol, her husband and their son to leave town, and gives them some money to live on. Marisol then asks the Stranger, "Why do you do this for us?" And for the first and only time, the Stranger provides some insight for his actions when he replies to Marisol, "Why? Because I knew someone like you once. There was no one there to help. Now get moving."

The Rojos capture and beat the Stranger up after this betrayal, but he escapes, killing Chico (Mario Brega) in the process, with the help of the coffin maker Piripero (Joseph Egger). Believing the Stranger to be protected by the Baxters, the Rojos set fire to the Baxter home and massacre all the residents when they are forced to flee the flames, including John Baxter, his son and his wife Consuelo. The Rojos become the only gang left in San Miguel. The Stranger escapes town by hiding in a coffin and recuperates in an abandoned mine.

When Piripero tells him that Silvanito has been captured and tortured by the Rojos for the Stranger's whereabouts, he returns to town to confront them. The Man with No Name returns to town to engage the Rojos in a dramatic duel. He first rescues Silvanito, who was tortured to reveal the Stranger's whereabouts. The Man with No Name has a steel chest plate hidden under his clothing and taunts Ramon to "aim for the heart" as Ramon's rifle shots bounce off. As Ramón's shots deflect until Ramón exhausts his Winchester rifle's ammunition. The Stranger shoots the weapon from Ramón's hand and kills Don Miguel, Rubio and the other Rojo men standing nearby. He uses the last shot to free Silvanito, who is hanging from a rope by his hands. After challenging Ramón to reload his rifle faster than he can reload his revolver, the Stranger shoots and kills him. Esteban Rojo aims for the Stranger's back from a nearby building but is shot dead by Silvanito. The Stranger bids Silvanito and Piripero farewell, and rides away from town.