The Carter family, travelling across the Californian Desert in a camper van, run into trouble when a broken axle leaves them stranded in the middle of an abandoned nuclear testing site. After their initial attempts to find help fail, they unwittingly stumble into the territory of a group of cannibalistic mutants who stalk their prey with the aid of CB radios.

With night closing in, the gruesome Pluto (Michael Berryman) leads an attack on the helpless family. Lost, terrified and defenceless, the Carters are forced to go to extreme measures in order to survive the night.