When Lightning Jack (Paul Hogan), who is an outlaw, but nobody seems to notice, takes Ben (Cuba Gooding Jr.) as a hostage during a robbery attempt the two join forces. Ben is frustrated by the lack of respect given him because he is deaf and wants to join Jack to gain some respect. While Jack is frustrated by the fact that no one seems to know he is an outlaw. During the course of training Ben to be a bank robber the two often visit the saloon where Jack meets with Lana Castel (Beverly D'Angelo), a showgirl who is in love with Jack. Eventually, after some initially disastrous efforts, Ben is ready to be Jack's partner in crime. The two attempt to pull off a big heist so that they can both get the respect that they are yearning for.