Rob and Jill Tyler adopt 2 children named Catherine and Eric. Eric is sweet, quiet and shy and Catherine is nice at times but has these terrible violent outbursts for no apparent reason. Catherine sticks the dog Casey with needles until the dog bleeds. She smashes Eric's head on the basement floor, causing him to go to the emergency room and tries to stab her new adoptive father with a knife while he's sleeping. Jill and Rob try to find a doctor and they eventually find Dr. Rosemary Myers. She examines Catherine and find out that she was abused by her biological father and wants Catherine to overcome this rage. Dr. Myers, Jill, and Rob preform holding therapy for Catherine and at first it doesn't seem to work, but Catherine seems to become more at ease as the therapy progresses.
An aging porn star agrees to participate in an "art film" in order to make a clean break from the business, only to discover that he has been drafted into making a pedophilia and necrophilia themed snuff film.
Among the goings-on of the sheriffs in largely rural and desert landscaped Thomas County, California include: divorced Wade Parent trying to introduce the notion to his two adolescent daughters, Lynn Marie and Debbie, of their teacher, Lauren Humphries, possibly becoming their new mother; Everett Peck believing that his first love, Bertha Clements, is being physically abused by her husband, blasting contractor Amos Clements; and alcoholic Luke Johnson being two years sober. Their goings-on and issues take a back seat when they have to investigate a numbers of deaths in different incidents, all seemingly related to a driver in what few eyewitnesses inconclusively identify as a large dark-colored sedan purposely running the victims down. Wade ends up leading the investigation and as more and more deaths occur, more evidence is collected *except* who the driver is. That increasing evidence includes the viciousness of the incidents and the seemingly nondestructive nature of the car. But what is happening may not be as simple as it appears on the surface, Wade and the others who will have to figure out the underlying issue to be able to neutralize the "car" hopefully forever.
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace—eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.