A widowed man with a notorious past unearths extraterrestrial technology along with its dormant inhabitant while pursued by bounty hunters and the U.S. Cavalry in 1880s New Mexico.

SYNOPSIS:

In 1884, an aging widowed outlaw who goes by BILL POTTER has run into possible trouble in his Denver, Colorado home. To maintain anonymity, he, along with his two young children, CLARA and ISAAC, move to his uncle-in-law’s abandoned cabin in the small, underdeveloped town of Missouri Plaza, New Mexico. Upon arrival, Potter reluctantly saves the life of COFFEY, a black man, from assailants, thus reverting to his violent past. Coffey, in return, offers him gainful employment at his boss’s cattle ranch.

Potter tries to maintain a low profile, which proves difficult as he’s welcomed as the new man of mystery by a group of eccentric locals who take an interest in him, once a widowed grocery store owner takes a liking to him. The transition continues to be problematic as the stress of being reduced to poverty along with the constant worry over bounty hunters and his father-in-law cause him to suffer horrific nightmares involving traumatic events of his past. For any shred of normalcy, Potter recruits Coffey to help dig a well, so at least they’d have access to fresh water.

Bounty hunter TYNAN DUNCAN, a self-righteous man with his own set of morals, is offered a hefty reward for bringing in Potter alive and is sent off with two unsavory marshals. Tynan’s journey brings him to the old Potter home where his wife’s remains are excavated, leading to Potter’s father-in-law who despises the outlaw for marrying his daughter. The father-in-law gives up Potter’s whereabouts in order to protect his own immoral business practices.

Potter unearths a spaceship while digging a well. He discovers ancient artifacts, a deceased creature, and a peculiar, glowing device—which powers the ship—he hopes may have some value. The locals discover how to activate the device, which contains a home beacon in the shape of a crystal prism, accidentally sending a signal to space. Potter discovers he has drawn unwanted interest in his land from the mayor who’s had an interest in purchasing the property to develop it. Potter rigs the ship full of dynamite in hopes of deterring attention from his land.

Before he can destroy the ship, his children inadvertently wake up a creature from hyperbolic sleep, which begins its terror rampage on the town and its residents in search of the power supply. The locals discover that Potter was concealing the ship and hold him responsible for the ensuing mayhem. Once revealed that the U.S. Cavalry is in pursuit, Potter panics and decides to flee town with his kids.

Potter is thwarted at his home by Tynan and company and a violent firefight ensues. As Tynan closes in on Potter, he is killed by aliens who’ve landed in his backyard along with the cavalry. Potter, caught in the middle of a battle between the aliens and the cavalry troops, makes it back to town only to see his Clara taken by the alien who now has the device.

Potter offers himself to the alien in exchange for Clara, who accepts, and they board the ship. Both spaceships leave earth. Potter kills the aliens and lights the dynamite only to find out it doesn’t work. He vanishes in infinite space. Eighty years later, at Isaac’s funeral in what is now Roswell, NM, Clara tells the story of how much her father influenced her and Isaac’s life. Isaac leaves her a safe which contains the prism. She activates it. Space ships arrive in the Roswell sky, and we see Potter in one of them.

An alternate ending version is available as well.