结束长达4年的刑期，橘真一（高倉健 饰）和狱友大槻（アイ・ジョージ 饰）离开网走市，准备前往青森展开新的生活。在途径函馆时，真一所乘的客船发生窃盗事件。船员搜查时打翻了一个修女手持的盒子，致令里面的海藻球散落出来。大槻顺手牵羊，藏起一枚。他不知道，看似平常的海藻球内竟然 藏有价值连城的钻石。原来此前不久，函馆某银行发生抢劫杀人事件，行内的钻石被洗劫一空，而修女正是偷运钻石的负责人。因丢失钻石，修女被同伙杀死。而真一、大槻及与他们同行的小偷由美（嵯峨三智子 饰）则被污为洗劫银行的钻石大盗。明暗角力由此展开……
本片根据伊藤一的原作《颜役》改编，为“网走番外地”系列的第二部，为当年《电影旬报》评选票房十佳第7名。

A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.

With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro, the son of a merchant rumored to have stolen gold from the shogunate. The boss has hired Yojimbo as his hard-drinking enforcer, but Yojimbo is both a spy for the shogunate, trying to find the gold, and in love with the merchant's unwilling mistress, Umeno. Ichi hires on as the merchant's masseur and buys Umeno's freedom with his employer's own money. This embarrasses Yojimbo who withdraws from a pact with Ichi to stir up trouble between father and son and their gangs. As the two sides fight, Ichi finds the gold and sets up a final set of confrontations.

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

1968 film by Shōhei Imamura