When former Indiana farm boy William Henry Rider goes on a bank robbing spree in Benedict Fouts's corner of Depression Era Illinois, it's up to Ben to bring him in. But Rider is no ordinary criminal. Famed for robberies that happen in the blink of an eye, Rider becomes a folk hero who steals from the rich and burns the mortgage papers of poor farmers teetering on the edge of financial ruin. Intrigued to learn that Fouts has been assigned to his case, Rider approaches him in a darkened movie house with a unique proposition: "We'll have ourselves a game of Cops and Robbers. I'll run, and you catch me. The clock starts right now, Ben." Ben knows he's the only one who can stop the Bureau from murdering Rider, but he's soon struggling with another reason to chase the enigmatic fugitive.