Wellman Anthony Santee is a former race car driver who has spiraled into a life of crime after the death of his mother, teaming up with his friend Eddie Turner to haul exotic stolen cars for profit. Their latest assignment sends them across the desert, a risky run that ends in trouble when a highway patrol officer pulls them over. The officer notices that [Eddie Turner] is carrying a gun hidden behind his back, and just as the tension peaks, reinforcements arrive: Lt. Franklin L. Severence and Jack "Rudy" Rudisill. After a brief, violent exchange, Eddie and the officer are killed, and [Wellman Anthony Santee] is left wounded and on the run.
Recovered in a prison hospital, Santee makes a daring escape during a transfer to the fictional San Gorgonio Penitentiary, sensing that the guards intend to murder him. Wounded but resolute, he abducts Rita Marek from a gas station, not realizing she is a police officer. Meanwhile, [Rita Marek]’s partner, Michael Agnos, leads the search for them as Severence and Rudisill press on with their investigation. Santee slips away with the help of Eddie’s widow and child, while the two seasoned investigators tighten the noose around him.
Rita’s attempt to escape forces Santee to act, and he disables several officers without killing them, a move that makes Rita question his guilt and the truth of his supposed crimes. The couple’s uneasy alliance deepens as Santee releases Rita and invades Severence’s home, compelling Esther Severence to provide the phone number of former associate Jimmy Shoeshine. At the house, Rita finds evidence that supports Santee’s side of the story, and the pair escape again, narrowly outrunning Esther and a pursuing highway patrolman.
The story pivots to Shoeshine’s warehouse, where Santee handcuffs Rita to safety and a fierce firefight leaves Shoeshine’s machines destroyed. Santee forces Shoeshine to hand over the money, but Shoeshine manages to escape thanks to the timely arrival of Severence and Rudisill. A series of flashbacks then reveals the grim truth: Severence and Rudisill are the real leaders of Shoeshine’s car-smuggling ring, and they killed the patrolman and Eddie to cover their tracks. They proceed to murder Jimmy and Michael, who know too much, further tightening the noose around Santee.
Devastated but resolved, Rita joins Santee in a desperate bid for life. As Severence and Rudisill close in, a crime-scene officer discovers a surveillance tape that captures Severence killing Michael, tipping the balance of truth. The pursuit climaxes on a cliff face after a long car chase, where Santee shoots down Rudisill in a bid to save Rita and then engages Severence in a brutal, intimate confrontation. Just as Santee gains the upper hand and seems ready to execute Severence, the police arrive and separate the two, with Severence arrested.
Though wounded, Santee is vindicated by Rita, and their bond deepens as they share a quiet kiss. In the aftermath, the law closes in to seal his release, and he looks toward a chance to return to a life that might finally reflect the truth of what happened, with Rita standing by him as they move forward together.
