Moving Violation

Drifter Eddie Moore arrives in Rockfield and is harassed by Sheriff Rankin and Deputy Tylor for hitch-hiking. They detain him and dump him at the oil field, warning him never to return. The encounter marks Rockfield as a corrupt, menacing town for outsiders.

Eddie goes to a drive-in, buys ice cream, and meets Camille 'Cam' Johnson, who captivates him. Cam shows him around town in her van, and a romantic spark quickly forms between them. The pair begins a countryside romance amid the town's tension.

Cam and Eddie visit the mansion of Mr. H.L. Rockfield and skinny-dip in the pool, enjoying the mansion's wealth. Sheriff Rankin and Tylor arrive and clash over Rockfield's business practices. The encounter foreshadows the danger that will follow them.

Outside the mansion, Rankin and Tylor argue; Rankin pulls a gun and shoots Tylor, who staggers toward Cam's van. Rankin then fires inside the van and kills Tylor, sealing his determination to silence Eddie and Cam. Cam and Eddie flee as the chase begins.

The pursuit extends onto the roads as Rankin chases Eddie and Cam. The van crashes into a ditch, but Cam and Eddie survive. Rankin trips and falls unconscious near them, and the couple escapes in Rankin's car while deputies take up the pursuit.

Rankin's car dies, forcing Eddie and Cam to hijack a Cadillac. They push on toward the next town, stopping at a diner along the way. Eddie urges Cam to call a lawyer, but Sundays complicate the legal help.

In Cody, Eddie and Cam evade Rankin's deputies by hiding in a warehouse and slipping into a flea store to contact the FBI. They try to stay ahead of pursuit, disguising their movements as they search for a way out. The pressure of the chase intensifies as the net tightens.

After the flea store contact, the deputies close in and the couple is forced to flee again. They steal another car, keeping ahead of Rankin's forces as the chase continues through the night. The danger escalates with every turn.

The fugitives break into an empty house to hide and share a moment of intimacy under a shower. The next morning they call lawyer Alex Warren, seeking protection and a path forward. Warren agrees to help if they can be effectively moved from the state.

Alex Warren smuggles them out to his house with Eddie tucked in the trunk and Cam wearing a hat. He negotiates a deal with the attorney general to call off the police pursuit if Eddie and Cam surrender as witnesses. The plan hinges on legal leverage to break Rankin's blockade.

Warren drives toward the courthouse with Eddie and Cam hidden, relying on warrants to outmaneuver patrols. Rankin's men tail them and plot to kill them to prevent testimony. Just outside the courthouse, a car pulls up and two men shoot and kill Alex, while Cam screams in terror.

Eddie evades pursuit and breaks into a National Guard armory to acquire a scoped rifle. At night he fires on police cars around Rockfield and detonates a confrontation with Rankin's deputies, ultimately shooting Rankin dead. The town erupts as the pursuit turns deadly.

Cam ends the day in a psychiatric hospital, traumatized but alive. Eddie watches from behind the fence and throws a plush toy to her, prompting her to break out of her catatonia and ask if she can climb the fence. The two characters gaze at each other as the film ends on a note of fragile hope.