Young lovers Hero and Claudio, soon to wed, conspire to get verbal sparring partners and confirmed singles Benedick and Beatrice to wed as well.
Burt, a clever ex-con, has changed his identity and has managed to land a job as a deputy in small town in upstate New York. On the 4th of July, while the drunken Sheriff Paisley is busy with the local parade and festivities, Burt quietly steals a million dollars in cash from the cellar safe in the local rich old widow's house. Unsuspected, Burt makes plans to live the rest of his life in the lap of luxury in a far off place with his attractive girlfriend, local hash house waitress Jeanette. But when a crisis of conscience hits him like a wave of ice cold water, he starts to think twice about his dastardly deed, and how that purloining of the old lady's money is wrongly affecting his friends as well as innocent locals. But will Burt do the right thing?
The hunter becomes the prey as a Vietnam veteran (Perry King) tries to ferret out the real culprit after being tagged as the prime suspect in the murders of his former Army pals.