When a fight with her boyfriend drives Seattle student Karen Harding into one of the worst storms in years, all she wants to do is get to her sister's house in one piece – instead she finds herself stranded on a desolate stretch of highway. The next morning the police find her car, but Karen has vanished without a trace. For rookie reporter Jason Wade, it's the story he's been waiting for and he knows he won't rest until he finds Karen – dead or alive.