Charlie Cox (Matt Frewer) is a divorced writer who lives in Los Angeles. Charlie and his daughter Joleen (Drew Barrymore), who will soon turn 14, are on their way home from a cross country vacation at the end of the summer when they run out of gas in Banco, Nevadaâa small town located in a remote part of the desert.
When they stop in the Banco Supermarket, they encounter sheriff Bill Childers (Dick Miller) along with the murdered owner of the store. Charlie and Joleen later visit a gas station owned by Duckett (Richard Masur), but the station is out of gas, so they check into the nearby Palomino Guest Ranch and Trailer Park, which is owned by Agnes Reed (Susan Tyrrell). Joleen soon meets Agnes's teenage son Jimmy (Andras Jones). On that night, while Agnes is taking a bath, Agnes is killed when a hand reaches in through her bathroom window and pushes a small fan into the bathtub water, electrocuting her. The same night, Charlie and Joleen meet their neighbors, fellow travelers Louise (Karen Austin) and Amy (Jennifer Tilly).
The next day, while swimming in the park's pool, Joleen hears two people loudly having sex in a nearby trailer, and while watching through the window, is startled by Jimmy watching through another window. Jimmy becomes sexually aggressive with Joleen, however she is rescued by Pinky Sears (Anthony Rapp), another teenager who lives at the guest ranch. Later that day, Charlie and Joleen agree to car pool with Louise and Amy, but that night, as they are about to leave the guest ranch, the killer blows up the carâwith Amy in itâto prevent Joleen from leaving. The killer is now obsessed with Joleen and steals her diary. The next day, when Jimmy tries to rob Duckett's gas station, Jimmy is accused by Sheriff Childers not only of trying to rob the gas station, but also of the murders of Ferrell, Agnes, and Amy.
Duckett goes to Pinky's trailer to speak to him, where he discovers that Pinky's mother has been dead for some time, and her body is covered with bags of ice. Pinky, who is the killer, shows up and stabs Duckett with a screwdriver, and then leaves. When Joleen (who is not aware Pinky is the killer) and Pinky walk to an abandoned construction site where he hangs out, she unsuccessfully attempts to seduce him. She finds her diary, and comes to the realization that Pinky is the killer.
When Duckett, who is still alive, radios the Sheriff and tells he and Charlie that Pinky has Joleen, the Sheriff and Charlie head to the construction site. Pinky kills Sheriff Childers when they arrive. Pinky chases Joleen up to the top platform on a nearby radio tower. Charlie tries to get up on the platform, but Pinky stops Charlie by cutting Charlie's hand. Pinky says that he thought Joleen loved him. Duckett, who is sitting in a nearby vehicle with a rifle fires a shot that causes Pinky to fall off of the tower. Pinky dies when he lands in a large satellite dish far below.
Later, Duckett tells Charlie and Joleen about Pinky keeping his mother's body iced, and then explains what he has figured outâthat Pinky started slipping over the edge before Pinky ever met Joleen. Pinky has been keeping ice on his mother's body and leaving her TV on because he didn't want to believe that she got sick and died, he really didn't want to believe she was gone. Pinky had to somehow get food for himself, so when Pinky went to the supermarket to get food, and Ferrell denied him, he killed Ferrell. Pinky had to live somewhere, so when Agnes demanded that Pinky pay rent that he couldn't afford or leave the trailer park, Pinky killed Agnes. Pinky became obsessed with Joleen, so when Joleen, Charlie, Amy, and Louise went to leave, Pinky blew up the car with Amy in it to stop Joleen from leaving.
Charlie, Joleen, and Louise leave Banco, and they head home to California.
Who is responsible for the sheriff's death?
Pinky