Big Driver

At a library in upstate Massachusetts, Tess Thorne meets fans and signs books during a daytime meet-and-greet. She travels by car because she fears flying, setting up her image as a capable, self-reliant protagonist. The event marks the start of her journey home, which will be interrupted by danger.

After the event, Ramona, the organizer, suggests a faster route home and directs Tess onto a rural road. Tess agrees, hoping to save time and avoid delays. The detour cuts through a desolate area where danger soon looms.

Tess's tires are punctured when nail-studded planks are laid across the road near an abandoned gas station. With no cell signal, she is stranded and vulnerable, praying someone will stop to help. The roadside isolation heightens the peril.

A man in a pickup stops and pretends to offer assistance, but his intent turns predatory. He assaults Tess, rapes and beats her, then leaves her unconscious in a culvert. She later discovers three female bodies in the culvert, hinting at a killer at large.

When Tess regains consciousness, the attacker is gone and she hobbles toward help. She worries about the scandal and the way the media would frame a survivor, deciding not to report the incident. She eventually finds a convenience store, calls a limousine service, and resolves to stay silent.

Tess learns from Betsy, a waitress at the Stagger Inn, that her car has been parked there as well, forming a bond between two violence survivors. Their shared pain deepens their connection. Tess also discovers that Ramona is the attacker’s mother and organizer, responsible for luring Tess into the trap.

Tess goes to Ramona's house with a gun intent on confronting her. Ramona denies knowledge and, in the struggle, reveals she orchestrated the attack, even pulling the trigger on an empty chamber. Tess disarms Ramona, grabs a kitchen knife, stabs her, and then shoots her.

Back at Ramona's house, Tess finds photos and clues identifying the attacker as Lester Norville, aka Big Driver. The evidence also links him to other victims, including her own assault. She heads to a nearby gas station to track the attacker's rig and information.

At a gas station, Tess spots the driver's rig and notes the address. Racing toward the address, she encounters the green pickup and shoots the driver as he climbs out, only to realize he is Little Driver, not Big Driver. The revelation leaves her haunted but determined to continue.

Tess reaches Big Driver's home, breaks in, and finds graphic photos of his victims and images of Tess's assault. She confronts him and fires twice, but he pursues her. She tackles him, uses a nailed plank to bludgeon him, then shoots him in the groin and watches him die.

After the deadly confrontation, Doreen—an ally from Tess's fictional world—appears and urges Tess to leave quickly. Tess escapes the house, carrying the heavy cost of her revenge and the trauma it entailed. The escape underscores the personal toll of her actions.

An anonymous tip leads police to the culvert graves and to Big Driver's house with incriminating photos. Betsy phones Tess to say, 'Way to go, girl!' confirming the police case and Tess's chosen path of vengeance. The ending leaves Tess grappling with the morality and consequences of what she did.