Border patrol guard Charlie Smith (Jack Nicholson) is plagued by a guilty conscience when, after moving to El Paso with his wife, he goes on the take and helps to smuggle aliens across the border for work as farmhands on U.S. ranches. This movie is a rare glimpse of Nicholson (who plays against type here) in the role of old-fashioned movie hero. Co-stars Harvey Keitel and Valerie Perrine.