A deranged desert town sheriff has a murderous habit of forcing speeders to their deaths, until a young man with a souped-up hotrod arrives to possibly end it.
A sadistic small-town sheriff has a habit of deliberately forcing speeders to their deaths on the mountain roads leading into town. The brother of one of the victims rolls into town in his hot rod to investigate his brother's death.—Anonymous
It is 1958, and in a small town named Clarksburg, travelers who exceed the speed limit become the victims an over-zealous Sheriff (Vic Morrow) and a corrupt court. Even the cab driver who ferries the drivers back to their cars is in on the corrupt scheme. But the sherriff is more than over-zealous. His humanity is damaged by personal tragedy, and when speeding drivers attempt to run, he punishes them by running them off the road with fatal results. However, one day, the brother (Martin Sheen) of one of his victims drives into the town in a mean 1934 Ford hot rod looking for a showdown with the Sheriff, and the stage is set for a duel of wits and driving ability. He captures the attention of a waitress (Michelle Phillips) with a husband in lockup, and a good-guy mechanic (Nick Nolte). When the mechanics teenage brother becomes the next victim of the Sherriff, things threaten to boil over. But the California Kid has a plan to let the Sherriff's bring himself down.
