American Broadcasting Company, Cinéma International Corporation, CIC Victor Video, K Films, MCA/Universal Home Video, Shochiku Company, Succéfilm AB, Universal Pictures
A duel is about to begin between a man, a truck, and an open road. Where a simple battle of wits is now a matter of life and death.
David Mann is a middle-aged businessman driving to an appointment in his Plymouth Valiant. On a two-lane highway in the California desert, he encounters a faded and grimy tanker truck, a Peterbilt 281, traveling below the speed limit and expelling thick plumes of diesel exhaust. Mann passes the unsightly truck, which promptly roars past him and slows down. Mann passes the truck a second time and is startled when it issues a long air horn blast.
Mann soon finds himself in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game with the truck, which follows him into a gas station and begins tailgating him once the vehicles return to the highway. After Mann allows the truck to overtake his Plymouth, the truck slows down and soon begins blocking Mann’s path each time he attempts to pass the truck.