Red Zone Cuba

In the opening sequence, Jim Benton asks about Griffin, Cook, and Landis who hopped his freight train five years earlier in 1961. Mr. Wilson calls Griffin 'he ran all the way to hell,' setting up their notoriety. The scene introduces the three fugitives and foreshadows the relentless pursuit that follows.

Griffin escapes from jail and soon runs into Cook and Landis, reuniting the trio. They form a pact to survive and pursue opportunities together. Their next stop is an airstrip that will set their plan in motion.

Cherokee Jack operates an airstrip where the trio is flown to a military facility. They are promised payment to participate in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, a plan that lures them into dangerous international activity.

Deceived about the money they were promised, the trio attempts to escape but is recaptured and coerced to invade Cuba. The betrayal turns their escape into a forced mission, dragging them into wartime chaos.

They are captured by Cuban forces and subjected to a lengthy sequence of executions before finally escaping again. The brutal sequence intensifies their desperation and cements their status as fugitives.

They abandon Bailey Chastain, their wounded superior officer, who begs them to take him along. He informs them of a mine back home containing pitchblende and tungsten, a revelation that motivates them to return to the United States.

The trio finds an airstrip, steals a light aircraft, and makes their flight back to the United States. The escape marks their return and sets up their crime spree on American soil.

Back in the U.S., they begin a crime spree to reach Chastain's wife, Ruby, aiming to mine the metals she is rumored to control. They assault Cliff Weismeyer at his café, throw him down a well, and Griffin rapes his blind daughter, then steal the cafe owner's car.

They hop Mr. Wilson's train in Albuquerque, continuing their rail-hopping ways and drawing the police closer. This stunt echoes their early notoriety and pushes the pursuit back into the foreground.

They reach Arizona and meet Chastain's wife Ruby as they press toward the mine, but the car runs out of oil and the escape stalls. The setback raises the stakes of their plan and increases the likelihood of capture.

Law enforcement closes in as police cars approach. Griffin impulsively shoots Ruby and flees into the fields, while Landis and Cook are arrested. The trio's momentum collapses under pursuit.

Bailey Chastain returns from Cuba alive and is reunited with his wife after she is rescued and escorted home by a policeman. The moment underscores the human costs of the fugitives' crimes and the fragile line between safety and ruin.

Griffin dies in a shootout with the police. His penny and bent cigarette are recovered, and a somber voice-over notes that Griffin ran all the way to hell.