The story follows Pratt whose wildly imaginative dime store novels are written in the first person and set in the untamed west. His readers are mistakenly under the impression that the exploits they read about are real and that Ernest Pratt is actually Nicodemus Legend, an adventurous main character dedicated to justice and science. Pratt is actually just a gambling, womanizing, hard-drinking writer. When he learns that a warrant has mistakenly been issued for the arrest of Legend in Sheridan, Colorado, he travels there to clear the name of his mythical hero.
Soon after his arrival, he meets a great admirer of his clever Western tales - the eccentric European scientist/inventor, Janos Bartok - who has taken the liberty of borrowing the Legend persona in order to help the local townspeople. Bartok convinces Pratt to assume the identity of his own literary creation, and to use Legend's celebrity as power over enemies who are attempting a land takeover. When Bartok and his apprentice, Huitzilopichtli Ramos, demonstrate how their scientific expertise and outlandish inventions (inspired by Pratt's novels) can bolster the impression that he really is Legend, Pratt reluctantly agrees to the scheme.
Richard Dean Anderson as Ernest Pratt, John de Lancie as Janos Bartok and Mark Adair Rios as Huitzilopichtli Ramos. Guest Starring are Stephanie Beacham as Vera Slaughter, Katherine Moffat as Katherine Sullivan, Bob Balaban as Parver, Tim Thomerson as John Wesley Coe, Douglas Rowe as Sheriff Moats, Joe Pennel as Silas and Jarrad Paul as Skeeter.
Richard Dean Anderson, Bill Dial, Michael Greenburg and Michael Piller are the executive producers. The two-hour teleplay was written by Michael Piller and Bill Dial and directed by Charles Correll. The movie was filmed on location in ucson and Mescal, Arizona. "Legend" was produced by T.L. Productions and Gekko Film Corp., and distributed by Paramount Network Television.