A young, by-the-book judge is appointed to a Sicilian village controlled by corrupt leaders and the Mafia.

A mule-cart crosses the countryside. Two bandits push the driver off and kill him when he resists. The bandits steal the mules - The town of Capodarso, Sicily. The Baron doesn't want help from Mafia boss Passalacqua to recover his stolen mules. A new judge is arriving - At the station, the new judge Schiavi meets the departing judge Pisani. Schiavi is young, but he's Sicilian and set on changing the old ways - A man in town has been shot, Aleo, one of the bandits. Before he dies, he refuses to name his killer but looks strangely at Messana in the doorway. The other bandit, Vanni, is on the run - Schiavi learns that much of the town is unemployed because the mine is closed. The mine is owned by the Baron's beautiful wife, but the Baron runs it. Why keep the mine closed in spite of the old court order to reopen? Schiavi goes to the mine to investigate. He is confronted by Passalacqua and his band of armed horsemen.—David Carless