In the film's opening sequence, young reporter Jim Benton (Bruce Love) asks train engineer Mr. Wilson (John Carradine) about three men — Griffin, Cook and Landis — who hopped his freight train five years earlier, in 1961. "He ran all the way to hell," the engineer remarks about Griffin. The title sequence follows, and afterwards the film proper picks up, switching to 1961 for the duration. Griffin (Coleman Francis) escapes from jail and runs into Cook (Harold Saunders) and Landis (Anthony Cardoza). The three make their way to an airstrip run by Cherokee Jack (George Prince) who flies them to a military training facility, where they will be paid to take part in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.