 Karen Edwards, her older sister Joan, and Joan s husband Bart rob motels by using trickery rather than violence. Their robbery of the upscale Monticello Hotel goes awry when the manager returns to the office unexpectedly and Bart is forced to shoot him. Though critically injured, the manager is able to give Dan Mathews essential information about the perpetrators. At Karen s urging, the increasingly reckless Bart goes ahead with his plans to rob the Eagle Motel at gunpoint. Joan is fearful of facing a murder charge and gives a description of Bart and his vehicle when she and Karen are stopped by a Highway Patrol officer. Dan Mathews spots the car, and is ultimately forced to face Bart in a man-to-man gun battle.