The Ruthless Four 1968 In Nevada, prospector Sam Cooper and his partner strike gold But Sams greedy partner starts shooting at Sam who takes refuge inside the gold mine His partner follows him inside the mine but is blown up by a dynamite charge set up by Sam on purpose Now alone, Sam takes a load of dust gold and heads toward the nearest town On the way, Sam meets a group of starving desperadoes who steal his horses and his food, ignoring the gold dust in the canvas sacks Sam dumps the gold dust in the river and goes on foot, passing the Sierras, the desert and the abandoned Spanish Catholic Mission before arriving in town Once in town, Sam sends a wire to his adoptive son, Manolo Sanchez, whom he trusts, to come meet him Manolo arrives in town and meets with Sam who asks for Manolos help in working his secret gold mine Unfortunatelly, Manolo also runs into an old friend, a ruthless killer named Brent, who wants his share of the gold Sam is angry but has no choice but to take both Manolo and Brent along However, for protection, Sam asks an old army buddy of his, Mason, to join the group Mason is sour at Sam for their desertion from the army and for Masons subsequent capture and imprisonment in an army brig for 3 years But the lust of gold is strong and Mason joins the group for half of the profits The four men buy mining tools, supplies and food from a local store, raising the storekeepers suspicions about a possible gold strike In the morning they depart, heading for Sam Coopers secret gold mine and straight into trouble