Naomi Heal, a former advertising director, is in the barn of her recently-purchased ghost town, tending to her horse Buttercup. Suddenly a masked rider wearing black leather bursts in on a dark horse. He declares that he's El Muerto Leather Gringo and gives Naomi 24 hours to leave or he'll kill her. El Muerto tosses a kerosene lamp into the hay, setting it afire, and rides off as Naomi puts the fire out.
Soon, Searcher learns that Naomi needs help and arrives at the ghost town. Naomi is making horseshoes and Searcher helpfully picks one up for her. She explains that she got fed up with the rat race and used her life's savings to buy a ghost town and turn it into a tourist attraction. Since Naomi has arrived, she's heard strange noises and footsteps. Searcher recognizes El Muerto as a ghostly Zorro-like figure and assures Naomi that he died over a hundred years ago. He assures Naomi that she and Buttercup are safe, and Buttercup kicks him across the street.
Searcher sets out to find the living person terrorizing Naomi and get him the help he needs. He comes to sheriff's office and finds a long-abandoned skeleton in a cell. When Searcher goes in to examine it, local old coot Cash McLean comes in and locks the door behind Searcher. He says that Searcher is going to die in the cell and he's not going to let anyone make a buck off of his home. Since Cash can't scare Naomi off, he's going to kill her. Laughing, Cash runs out.
Satisfied that his theory was right, Searcher tries to work out an escape. He finally calls Buttercup to the cell window, grabs a lasso, and puts it around the bars--and himself. When Buttercup gallops off, the horse yanks the window out of the wall... and Searcher with it.
Buttercup leads Searcher to the local mine. Cash has captured Naomi and plans to bring the ceiling down with dynamite. However, the tunnel ceiling is weak and a beam falls on Cash. Searcher comes in and sees the dynamite, but is unable to put out the fuse or pull it out. He finally tosses it outside, unties Naomi, and sends her outside. Cash begs Searcher to help him, and Searcher lifts it off. The old man shoves Searcher back and the beam falls on him. Laughing, Cash runs off as the burning fuse reaches the dynamite. Nothing happens for a moment, and then it explodes. The blast knocks Searcher onto Cash, knocking the old man out. Naomi kisses Searcher and asks what she owes him, and he says that it's on him.
As Searcher rides out of town, he sees a ghostly white-clad figure on a horse waving a sword. He realizes that it's the real El Muerto Leather Gringo... and figures out too late that the legendary hero is waving a warning to him. A bus runs Searcher over
Written by Gadfly on Sep 27, 2016