The game's official site uses the following text to set the mood:
At the turn of the 20th century, when the chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age, a former outlaw, John Marston, is sent across the American frontier to help bring the rule of law.
Until recently, I was under the impression that Rockstar wasn't going to get back into the Western business. You might remember that the company contributed a bit of Western-themed footage to Sony's press conference back at E3 2005. While untitled, everyone essentially took it to mean that RDR2 was in the works. Then Rockstar went around and told everyone that it wasn't Red Dead Revolver 2, but essentially refused to say what it actually was. I wonder if any of that stuff from whatever that game was has lived on to make it into Red Dead Redemption.
Red Dead Redemption is scheduled for a Fall release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.