Kidnap victim Jerry Watts is being held in a decrepit mountain cabin by his two kidnappers. After a game warden discovers the three in the cabin, he leaves to advise the Highway Patrol. When Officers Dorsey and Garvey investigate, Jerry takes a chance on an escape is and is critically injured. The armed kidnappers remain in the cabin,but are in position to foil rescue attempts. Dan Mathews and Dr. Simmons travel to the scene in the Highway Patrol helicopter in the hope of airlifting Jerry to safety. When the kidnappers fire on the helicopter, Dan orders Officers Dorsey and Garvey repositioned to fire continuously upon the cabin while the helicopter is used to collapse the decaying roof of the old cabin in order to force the two felons out into the open.
Career criminal Steve Talbot's "final" jewelry heist goes awry when he has to kill the jeweler and is spotted by a bystander who notifies the Highway Patrol. Talbot's inexpensive getaway car breaks down before he can reach the airport and flee the area with his wife Audrey, so he hitches a ride with Jim Rogers and his wife, who are pulling a travel trailer. He subsequently takes Mrs. Rogers hostage in the trailer after a radio broadcast identifies him as a fugitive. Dan Mathews and his officers release the car and trailer from a roadblock, then drive ahead to the airport to capture Audrey Talbot and position themselves for an attempt to capture her husband and rescue the terrified Mrs. Rogers.
