Parker murders the sheriff of the town, then sets fire to the house of his family to disguise the crime. A few circus artists (!) happen to be nearby and save two women from the burning building. Thus they have two witnesses to hide and start to collect more proof against Parker. But Parker becomes new sheriff and suddenly the acrobats are suspected to be bandits themselves...
From the cast and summary mentioning circus artists, I expected a comedy, but this movie is mostly serious and not without the violent action Italian westerns were known for in 1970. "I vendicatori dell'Ave Maria" sometimes seems cheap, for example the music is obviously borrowed from other movies, including "I quattro dell'Ave Maria" by Giuseppe Colizzi. But the story is never boring, it's entertaining enough to watch till the end. Director Adalberto Albertini is known for "Black Emanuelle" and "Star Crash 2", although that doesn't sound like a recommendation.