When Susan Stokes finally rids herself of her abusive husband, she thinks that the worst is behind her. After marriage to Gary, she is understandable leery of romance, and devotes herself to her baby daughter, a parting gift of which Gary is unaware. She very nearly loses her life, as well as that of her daughter, when a freak car-fire totally destroys her three-month-old automobile. If it weren't for the heroic efforts of a truck-driver named Ron Blake who is following behind her at the time, she would have been cremated on the side of Interstate 10 between Beaumont, Texas and Houston. Over the next couple of weeks, one thing leads to another, and despite her determination to not "leap into another love affair," what begins as sincere gratitude gradually turns into a deep and abiding love, and the feeling is mutual. Gary Stokes, however, is nurturing a hatred for Susan as cold and bitter as interstellar space. He has plans of his own, all of which involve Susan's untimely demise, in as painful a manner as possible. The next several weeks of Susan's life turn into a nightmare that far eclipses the misery of her marriage to Gary Stokes.