 Tom Phillips (Dana Andrews), his wife Peg (Jeanne Crain) their teenage daughter Tina (Laurie Mock) and little boy Jamie (Tim Stafford) drive through the California desert heading for a new life running a motel. Things go haywire when teenage bad girl Gloria (Mimsy Farmer) and her two delinquent boyfriends, Duke and Ernie (Paul Bertoya and Gene Kirkwood), chase them, with Duke attempting to seduce the daughter, finally driving dad to take action.