A common theme in "noir" films is the post-war disillusionment experienced by many soldiers returning to the peacetime economy, which was mirrored in the sordidness of the urban crime film. In these films a serviceman returns to find his sweetheart unfaithful or a good friend dead. The war continues, but now the antagonism turns with a new viciousness toward American society itself. In "Ride the Pink Horse", Gagin's quest to avenge his friend's death leads him to rural New Mexico, an unusual setting for the "noir" motif more typically associated with corrupt urban environments.