In 1957, an unidentified flying object (UFO) crashes at Dawson Air Force Base. President Eisenhower arrives and orders it to be disposed of before the press learns about it. In 1985, at Kit Carson High School, science teacher, Bob Roberts, who is known to his students as “Bob,” asks the class about their upcoming science projects. Student Michael Harlan is falling behind, and Bob encourages him to finish his project. Michael’s girl friend, Crystal, breaks up with him because of his obsession with cars, and his lack of obsession with romance. Nerdy classmate Ellie Sawyer rigs her car to breakdown so Michael will come to her rescue. She asks him to take her on a date to help alleviate her anti-social reputation. When Michael sees Crystal kissing another boy, he agrees to a date with Ellie. He takes Ellie to the abandoned Dawson Air Force Base, which is now a military junkyard. Michael searches the grounds for something he can use for his science project, as he is good at restoring machines. He falls through a boarded-over hole, and discovers a deserted fall-out shelter. Exploring with a flashlight, he opens a glowing box, while Ellie screams from above after seeing a rat, and alerts a security guard to their presence. Michael takes the glowing object, and flees with Ellie. The object causes Michael’s vintage automobile to have an electrical short and break down. He borrows a CB radio from a passing trucker, and radios his friend, Vince “Vinne” Latello, to tow his car. Michael drops Ellie off at home, and she tells him she enjoyed their date. Sometime later, Michael cleans the glowing object and inadvertently switches on the machine. He and Vinnie attach it to a car battery, and the battery is destroyed. They see a hologram image emerge from the machine, and quickly disconnect its power. The boys realize that two hours have instantly passed because of the machine, and go to the school library to ask classmate, Sherman, if he has any books on the phenomenon. Sherman describes it to them as being a time warp. The boys wonder how they can cash in on the discovery. Michael asks his teacher, Bob, to meet him later that night at the school, so he can share his discovery. Michael invites Ellie, and asks her to bring her camera. Bob examines the glowing machine, and determines it has an energy source not yet discovered on Earth. He recognizes that it will create a time-space warp, and increases the power, relishing in its emitting energy beams. Moments later, he is sucked into the machine. Michael, Vinnie, and Ellie are unable to turn it off, and race to cut the town’s power supply off in hope of bringing Bob back. Michael breaks into his father’s hardware store, triggering the alarms, and takes dynamite. He attaches the explosives to power lines outside town, and successfully cuts off the electricity. The teenagers try to return to the school, but police officers are on campus arresting classmates who were vandalizing school property. Ellie wonders if they should tell the police what happened to Bob, but Vinnie says no. Michael drives Ellie home, and kisses her goodnight. Detective Isadore Nulty is waiting for Michael when he returns home, and asks about the break-in at his father’s hardware store, and his missing teacher. Before going with Detective Nulty to the police station, Michael telephones Ellie and tells her to bring the machine to the station. At school, Ellie finds mysterious items that have traveled through the time warp. Sherman, secretly follows her, and wants to know what she is up to. Sherman tries to take the machine, but it sparks when he unplugs it, causing a power surge throughout the town. As Michael and Vinnie are being booked at the police station, they take advantage of the power outage to escape. They race to school to rescue Ellie, and discover the warp now encircles the entire high school. Sherman leads them to a tower, where Ellie lies unconscious, and along the way, they encounter historical figures and menacing creatures that have traveled through the warp. Michael fights an attacking warrior, and kills the man with his own sword. Next, the teenagers battle Vietnamese soldiers and take their rifles. They have a gun battle with laser-beam-shooting humans from the future, and confront a dinosaur. Michael shoots the prehistoric creature and saves his friends. He finds Ellie unconscious, but she soon revives. The force field continues to grow, and Michael tries to cut the machine’s energy. He disappears into a vortex, and the energy subsides. Moments later, he reappears, unharmed. Ellie embraces him, and the teenagers take a vow of silence. Outside, police and firemen surround the high school. Bob reappears, and regales them with stories of his trippy time warp through the 1960s. Sometime later, Michael and Ellie return the machine to where they found it. Driving home, his automobile malfunctions again, and Michael is relieved to discover that he is only out of gas. He and Ellie walk back to town.