A grizzled old plainsman named Teaspoon Hunter (Anthony Zerbe) has just emerged from his bath – in a horse trough. Now he’s addressing his six raw recruits, none older than 18. "This here pony express," rasps Teaspoon, "is 2000 miles from St. Joe, Missouri, all the way to Sacramento, California. There’s 190 way stations and 500 of the best Injun ponies. You will ride 75 miles. One day. Flat out." Gulp. The year is 1860, and these kids don’t look like they’re cut out to be frontier mailmen. But whoa, let’s meet some of ‘em: the Kid (Ty Miller) is a soft-spoken orphan with a blazing six-gun; Billy Cody (Stephen Baldwin) will grow up to be Buffalo Bill Cody; and Jimmy Hickok (Josh Brolin) is apparently the future Wild Bill Hickok. Together, with Ike (Travis Fine), Little Buck (Gregg Rainwater) and Lou (Yvonne Suhor), these young guns will face such perils as Indians, outlaws and them pesky Nielsens.