 Widow Alice Marshall and her little girl Kathy are traveling on an extended vacation in their station wagon. Kathy is bitten on the cheek by a puppy at a gas station and the bite goes unreported until the dog shows symptoms of rabies four days later. Because of the proximity of the wound to the little girl s brain, Dr. Elliott of the health department advises Dan Mathews that it is critical that they locate Kathy immediately in order to begin emergency life-saving inoculations. Their task takes on increasing difficulty and urgency because of the ever-changing nature of Alice and Kathy s trip and the rural character of the area, which provides few indications as to their destination or whereabouts.