Inferno

During a trip through the Mojave Desert, Carson breaks his leg. Gerry and Joe claim they will fetch medical help, but they deliberately do not return, hoping he will die of exposure. Left alone, Carson vows to survive so he can exact revenge on his adulterous wife and her accomplice.

Gerry and Joe abandon Carson and plot his death. They pretend to search for a doctor but never come back, hoping the desert will finish him off. Carson, stripped of their help, vows to survive and to pursue revenge once he is rescued.

Carson fashions a splint for his broken leg and uses the resilience of his body to move through rough rocks. He digs a shallow well to secure water and shoots a deer to provide meat, drying strips to last for days. He endures the harsh conditions, determined to outlast his pursuers.

Authorities had hoped to locate him, but after several unsuccessful attempts they suspend the search. Carson remains alone in the desert, clinging to the vow to endure until his enemies are punished.

Joe flies a small plane over the desert and spots the remnants of a recent fire, suggesting Carson may still be alive. Realizing the possibility, Gerry and Joe decide to return to the desert to finish what they started.

An old prospector named Elby, driving a jalopy, encounters Carson as he is dying of thirst. He gives Carson a ride back to his shack, rescuing him from certain death and offering shelter.

Back at the car, Gerry has driven over a large rock, rupturing the oil pan and making escape impossible. Joe realizes her real intention was to abandon both him and Carson.

Joe spots a pair of binoculars on the car seat and suddenly realizes Gerry's betrayal—that she planned to leave them both to die. He resolves to confront Carson rather than fleeing, setting the stage for a confrontation.

In Elby's shack, Carson tells the old prospector that revenge had sustained him, but the betrayal by his wife and her lover no longer seems important. He begins to rethink his motive as they share a modest supper.

Elby goes outside to his well for water, and Joe knocks him out and enters the shack. Joe shoots at Carson but misses, and the two men engage in a brutal fistfight that topples a stove and starts a fire.

During the struggle, Elby regains consciousness and drags Carson to safety, while Joe perishes in the blaze that engulfs the shack.

The next day, Elby drives Carson toward town and spots Gerry walking on a remote desert road. Carson tells her she can wait for authorities to find her or ride with them, and she reluctantly climbs onto the back of the car as they drive away.