 During a routine traffic stop, Officer Ben Willkie fails to handcuff Buck Lester, who is on the run for a $62,000 payroll robbery that ended in murder. Lester escapes after shooting Officer Willkie in the back, and Dan Mathews and Officer Larrabee travel to the scene after the critically wounded officer fails to respond to several calls. Lester steals other license plates and, acting on local information obtained from a waitress, he and his wife steer their car onto a little-used back road in an attempt to flee the area. However, Dan knows that the back road is the only way to avoid the Highway Patrol s roadblocks and he and Officer Larrabee are able to set a trap for the cocksure couple.