| Director | Lawrence Kasdan |
|---|---|
| Budget | $26 million |
| Box office | $32.2 million |
Three armed men ambush Emmett as he sleeps in an isolated shack. He kills them and takes one of their horses, then sets off for the town of Turley to meet his brother, Jake, intending to visit their sister Kate in Silverado before continuing on to California.
En route, Emmett rescues Paden, lying in the desert clad only in his long johns underwear, after being robbed and left to die. He lends Paden the spare horse and they arrive at a cavalry outpost, where Paden spots the man who stole his horse. He hurriedly buys a gun with money Emmett lends him. The thief shoots first, but Paden kills him. Paden runs into Cobb, a former criminal associate, who lends him money for new clothes and offers him a job, though Paden declines.
In Turley, Emmett and Paden encounter a wagon train of settlers with a large money box. They witness a Black cowboy, Mal, fight off several attackers and a racist saloon owner. They defend Mal's actions to Sheriff John Langston, who orders Mal to leave town. Learning that Jake is to be hanged for murder the next day, Emmett intends to break him out of jail, but Paden declines to get involved. At the saloon, Paden kills the other man who robbed him to reclaim his hat and gun. Langston arrests Paden and puts him in Jake's cell.
The next morning, Emmett sets fire to the gallows as a diversion, while Jake and Paden break out of jail. They escape town, aided by Mal, a crack shot, who forces Langston's posse to abandon their pursuit. The four men encounter the settlers, whose money box has been stolen. After finding the hideout and recovering the money, they escort the wagon train to their destination near Silverado. Paden and Emmett each take an interest in Hannah, whose husband was killed, while Mal departs for his parents' farm.
Emmett and Jake reunite with Kate, her husband J.T., and their son Augie. It is revealed that Emmett spent five years in prison for killing a rancher over a land rights feud. Mal finds his now-widowed father, Ezra, whose farm was burned down by McKendrickthe son of the rancher Emmett killedwho seized the land. Reaching Silverado, Paden visits the saloon and befriends the manager, Stella. Cobb, the saloon's owner and Silverado's sheriff, hires Paden as his new pit boss.
McKendrick's men murder Ezra, and Mal learns his estranged sister, Rae, is the mistress of gambler "Slick" Stanhope. Emmett realizes the gunmen who ambushed him were sent by McKendrick, who enlists Cobb to kill Emmett and Jake. Mal saves a badly injured Emmett from Cobb's deputies but is betrayed by Slick and captured by Cobb. Kidnapping Jake and Augie, McKendrick's men burn J.T.'s land office. Cobb threatens Stella to keep Paden from intervening, but she urges him to take action, and Rae is wounded breaking her brother out of jail.
Emmett, Mal, and Paden attack McKendrick's ranch, causing a stampede and killing most of his men. Emmett rescues Augie as Jake joins the fight, while McKendrick flees into town. The four compatriots split up. Jake guns down Cobb's right-hand man Tyree; Mal rescues Rae from Slick, killing him with his own knife; Emmett deals with the remaining corrupt deputies and fatally strikes McKendrick with his horse; and Paden shoots Cobb dead in a duel, witnessed by a grateful Stella.
Bidding everyone goodbye, a reconciled Mal and Rae depart to rebuild their family's homestead, as Emmett and Jake finally head for California, and Paden becomes the new sheriff of Silverado.