Five backpackers and their guide, Dixie, trek through the northern Rocky Mountains, where the air is sharp and the path is unpredictable. A rugged presence, Cowboy, notices a parachutist landing near the route, and the group’s calm curiosity quickly shifts to cautious interest. A radio broadcast soon follows, reporting that a skyjacker bailed out of a plane somewhere in their vicinity, a detail that tugs at their nerves as they press on. The next day they comb the woods and crags for the mysterious jumper, and when they spot the man attempting to flee, Cowboy ends the pursuit with a swift, final shot. They uncover a sleeping bag stuffed with cash—the loot from the skyjacker’s flight—and bury the guy’s body, leaving the question of what to do with the money hanging heavy in the air. The group splits into factions as they argue about whether to keep the cash; Dixie and the younger Nick Fleming are the most principled, with Nick, recently divorced after financial trouble, weighing the consequences of every choice. On a perilous precipice trail, Dixie loses his grip and plummets to his death. With the realization that the authorities don’t know the precise skyjacker location, the survivors decide to divide the takings, albeit with Nick’s reluctant consent.
They push on toward a glacier that could offer safety, where the terrain tests their endurance and resolve. The group is joined by Al Zabrocki, an aging, overweight man whose burden grows heavier as he hauls gear and the money alike. The calm plan is complicated by Steven Dennis, the meticulous accountant, who unveils a scheme to launder the winnings through Mexican banks. Tensions flare when Zabrocki’s heart trouble becomes a real danger; after most of the party heads ahead the next morning, he fears they’ve stolen his share and pursues them, only to collapse and die. Nick’s attempt to reassure him fades as the pursuit continues, and the tragedy seals the grim mood of their march. They reach raging rapids, where the first to cross—Cowboy and then Steven—test both nerve and balance. Nick Fleming arrives just as his father, Arnold Fleming, attempts the ascent; Arnold loses his footing at the final step and is swept away. In a tense moment of mercy and misgiving, Cowboy urges Arnold to shed his backpack to lighten the load, and Arnold complies, but fate proves merciless as the current claims him anyway. Accusations fly when Nick suspects Cowboy of greed for rifling through Arnold’s pack, though Cowboy insists the money isn’t something he truly desires, even threatening to throw it away if Nick refuses to claim it. Reluctantly, Nick accepts.
The climb continues onto a snow-covered crest, where frostbite threatens Steven as his socks stiffen with cold. The survivors rearrange the ransom once more, placing more weight on Cowboy and Nick so Steven can forge ahead, light a fire, and warm his aching feet. Darkness falls and a fierce snowstorm envelops them, driving the trio apart. Nick seeks out Steven while Cowboy presses on alone, each step a test of will. Nick eventually finds Steven and ferries him to a sheltered spot, sacrificing his own backpack to lighten the burden. Left outside in the wind and white, Cowboy struggles to ignite his money amid the cold and gusts and succumbs to the freezing air. Nick earns a chance to save a life by starting a fire for Steven, and morning reveals a distant line of buildings on the slope below, with no sign of his missing pack. “It’s like it never happened,” Nick muses softly, and with that quiet resolve he sets off to find help.
