The Vanishing

Barney Cousins, a chemistry professor, works alone at his cabin, pushing his research toward perfecting a kidnapping method. He becomes obsessed with the idea that great good can come from evil. His wife Helene and daughter Denise grow suspicious of his devotion, fearing an affair. The opening sets up a dangerous tension between intellect and morality.

On a vacation trip with Jeff, Diane stops at a gas station and vanishes without a trace. Jeff searches frantically afterward, but the case remains unsolved for years. The disappearance casts a long shadow over their lives.

Three years pass, and Jeff's obsession to find Diane intensifies. He posts fliers, follows every lead, and neglects his personal life in pursuit of answers. The urgency consumes him as time stretches the mystery.

While exhausted from the ongoing search, Jeff stops at a diner and meets Rita, a waitress who seems to understand his pain. She offers sympathy and becomes a reassuring presence, eventually forming a relationship with him. Their bond marks a turning point as Jeff begins to rebuild his life.

About a year after meeting, Jeff and Rita are a couple and have settled in a Seattle apartment. Jeff hides a rough draft of a novel about Diane's disappearance, afraid it will hurt Rita. A publisher later suggests turning the case into a book, giving Jeff a new pretext to pursue the truth.

To keep investigating discreetly, Jeff buys a used military uniform and uses the cover of reserve drills. He hides the Diane manuscript draft and continues the search under this alias. The publisher's suggestion provides a formal excuse for his ongoing investigation.

One weekend, Rita accesses Jeff's computer and discovers the manuscript is really about Diane's disappearance. She confronts Jeff in his motel room and demands the truth. Jeff reluctantly confesses, and Rita delivers an ultimatum: he must abandon the investigation to preserve their relationship.

Months later, Barney spots Diane's missing posters on campus and decides to bait Jeff by inviting him to a country club to learn the truth. He signals that he knows more than he reveals, pulling Jeff deeper into his game. This sets the stage for the dangerous confrontation to come.

At the country club, Barney confronts Jeff and offers to reveal Diane's fate if Jeff agrees to go through the same ordeal. He explains that his actions stem from a philosophy about good and evil. Jeff reluctantly agrees to participate in Barney's plan.

Through flashbacks, the film shows the build-up to the crime: Diane's wary encounter with Barney at the gas station, his flirtation over a bracelet, and his deceptive invitation into the car. Barney drugs Diane with chloroform, abducting her; Jeff is taken to the same gas station and drugged, waking to a terrifying fate. The two narratives converge as Barney's experiment unfolds.

Diane is kidnapped at the gas station, and Jeff is dragged there, drugged, and buried alive in a coffin. The two fates are bound into Barney's twisted test of his hypothesis about human evil. The grim sequence cements the danger Jeff and Diane faced.

Rita, after hearing the altered outgoing message, locates Barney's identity and goes to his home. She meets Denise, Barney's daughter, who guides her to the cabin where the abduction plot culminated. A tense pursuit unfolds as Rita moves to confront Barney and rescue Jeff.

Rita deceives Barney by pretending she has kidnapped Denise, then lures him into drinking drugged coffee. The drug's effects begin to take hold, giving Rita time to search for Jeff. The plan is risky and fraught with danger as Barney struggles to counter her moves.

Jeff emerges from the grave, kills Barney with a shovel, and embraces Rita. The long nightmare ends as they confront the truth about Diane and begin to rebuild their lives. The couple finally reconciles, having survived the ordeal.

Jeff and Rita reunite and sell the story as a novel to a publishing company, turning their harrowing experience into a publication. They prepare to move forward together, carrying the memory of Diane with them. The film closes on a note of uneasy closure and reluctant healing.