 A husband (Fred) and wife (Edith) attempt to rob a small rural grocery store at gunpoint. The robbery results in critical injury to the grocer and the abduction of his 10-year-old daughter, Susie. The terrified girl can neither hear nor speak and elicits sympathy from Edith, who eventually convinces Fred to release her in a remote area. Dan Mathews is disgusted by the abduction of such a helpless victim and orders an intensive search for the child. When she is found unharmed, he is able to take advantage of her lip-reading and observation skills to obtain critical information concerning Fred and Edith s whereabouts.