Charlie Tibbs, an escaped homicidal maniac, has left a trail of rampage and murder across the countryside. When a group of school teachers stop to repair their car on a desolate highway, they are brutally attacked by Tibbs who tortures them in a terrifying game of cat and mouse.

A vivid screenplay and cinematography by future Academy Award-winner Vilmos Zsigmond (The Deer Hunter), creates a powerful film.