Hammer stops one night on a deserted country road to pick up Christina, a striking hitchhiker who has broken out of the lunatic asylum nearby. The two are set upon by thugs who force his car into a crash. Hovering on the edge of consciousness, Hammer listens as Christina is tortured until she dies. Partly out of a thirst for revenge, and partly hoping "something big" is at stake, he decides to take up the case.