Upon hearing of his mentor's impending death, haggard musician Kino Warren begins a journey on foot across country, and through a place not of this world referred to as "the territory". Kino believes wholeheartedly that the mentor cannot die until he arrives. On his journey, Kino is unaware several people are on his tail - varyingly malicious and politically involved - in search of the only-known recording of the greatest piece of music ever made, a piece supposedly capable of taking away all pain within the listener - created by his mentor, and in his possession, completely unbeknownst to him.

After suffering a violent heart attack, Bill is advised by his doctor to lower his blood pressure by eliminating the stresses from his life. Taking his doctor's advice literally, Bill starts killing everyday people who irritate him with poisoned darts. The killings lower Bill's blood pressure for a while but attract the attention of Detective Jordan, an enigmatic cop who plays a strange cat and mouse game with Bill as he tries to decide whether he should arrest him or join him in his campaign. As the cop begins to make Bill's life a living hell, stresses closer to home ramp up his blood pressure, and Bill puts his best friend Stan's ex-wife on his hit list. Convinced that their friendship won't last until Stan's ex- is dead, the two men concoct a plan to get rid of her that will look like a heart attack. Although they get away with the murder, anomalies in the forensic report suggest that the ex- was poisoned. Suspecting a connection between the the "Dartman" and the poisoned woman, ...