In summer 1978, convicted murderer Tison escaped with cellmate Randy Greenawalt from the Arizona State Prison in Florence and, with the aid of Tison's three teenage sons, they tore through the western desert on their way to Mexico. Because Tison was a scorpion, he left a trail of carnage. In the film, while law enforcement (Davison) hunt him down, his wife (Graham) defends her family in the press.