A drifter finds himself wrongly accused of murder by a power-crazed sheriff. The sheriff gives him a horse, some supplies, and a one-hour head start into the desert, then he will send his murderous posse after him。戈达尔這部近作的原始構想,來自偉大的義大利詩人李奧巴迪,他曾說過:「在今天,人類的權力只集中在數個人的手裡,我們每天目擊不同的事變,然而卻不知根由。整個世界活像雜種神秘機制下推動的機器‥此外,這部電影也得到希臘神話的啟發,包括普羅特斯、莫里哀等人,都寫過的「安菲特利昂」的故事。。