An out-of-control test rocket causes death and destruction and requires the relocation of the rocket development plant. Trucker Mitch Barton (Brian Keith) assembles a team of several other men for a nearly suicidal mission to drive three trucks to move the rocket fuel—hydrazine, nitric acid, and concentrated hydrogen peroxide—safely over a rough mountain road within three days. Fuel developer George Lawrence (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) feels responsible for a safe passage and comes along.
The men take the dangerous job for an exorbitant fee of 5,000 dollars each and discuss what they will do with the money. When his brother Ben is too drunk to drive, race car driver Ken takes his place. Frank Miller, determined to provide for his nagging wife, takes the job. He prevents a possible explosion by closing a valve on a nitric oxide tank with his bare hand and dies of his injuries.
Detoured by breakdowns, fatigue and a treacherous terrain, plus a runaway school bus, Mitch and the men arrive at their destination and receive their pay.
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