A shootist is what later came to be called a gunman, a killer, in the early days of the lawless Wild West. This is the story of one such gunman, who is dying of cancer in a rooming house in El Paso. When news gets around of his approaching death, everyone wants to be in at the end, and wheel around him like vultures, not quite hesitating to keep their distance. The book is a marvel of brevity, filled with unforgettable portraits of the shootist, his landlady and her son, as well of the lesser cameos. The ending is without parallel.