 At Houston space control for research, Jessica overhears Sam Mercer promise NASA s LG computers order, essential for the IT firm, is on its way, but the truck gets robbed by masked men on the open road in plain daylight. Her friend and host Wayne Platte, the truck driver, got hurt, and the firm was in bad enough shape, now suppliers demand immediate payment and insurance considers them a bad risk. His son Rob Platte, a college drop-out who works in the roadhouse, seems only interested in country singing, which doesn t bring in good money. Roadhouse owner Willie Greenwood is furious her accomplice Randy Jinks, waitress Cindy Warrick s ex, could have killed Wayne. Randy and Rob, Cindy s lover who never told his dad about her, fight till Willie pulls them apart to avoid damages. Randy haggles about the looted computers; Willie reminds Wayne s secretary Meg Thomas her next debt payment is due. Ex-con Lance Taggart drops in at Willie s; she won t put him up but he follows Randy, gets him talking and makes her cut him in for 10% to keep him silent. Sheriff Jim Monday suspects Wayne hijacked his own truck to ransom the computers which are of little use except for NASA. When Wayne disapproves of Rob s proposal to Cindy, he quits as driver too. Wayne hurts his arm badly changing a truck tire and is ready to close shop, but Rob returns. Randy is ran over by a truck at night after stepping out of his pickup truck; a Platte name tag from the truck Rob drove is found there- the sheriff arrests Rob. Jessica snoops at the local electronics shop after noticing a pickup with possible camouflage for the stolen computers, makes the owner betray himself as a fence, but he claims the computers were rubbish, impossible to sell even as parts. Then Jessica finds out the truck mileage was doctored so someone else could have drive Rob s truck...