A young couple, John Lerner and Susan “Susie” Reed, and their friend, Scott, are dissatisfied with their lives. They quit their dead-end jobs in Seattle, Washington, and head to Alaska in an old hearse. With romantic ideas about salmon fishing, they stop at a small-town bar; the boomtown prices provoke their realization that jobs are scarce. Frank Sanders, a union representative for the Alaska pipeline project, flirts with Susie and explains that he is a good man to know if someone is looking for work. John and Scott become intoxicated and rent three cots from the barkeep. The next morning, they awake to find their car has been broken into and their money is gone. Sanders finds the men jobs on the pipeline, but later, when Susie asks for a job and he tries to kiss her, she rejects his advances and finds work as a waitress. One day, as John, Scott and Susie shop for groceries, the market is robbed. Tired of eating hamburger every night, they exploit the situation and steal a cart full of steak and other expensive meat. That night, John and Susie’s intimacy makes Scott uneasy and he goes to a coffee shop. A young woman named Cindy Young who works at the pipeline payroll office comes in and purchases a handgun from the proprietor, telling Scott that everyone in Alaska has a gun. She invites him to come home with her, but when she mentions she is $50 short on her rent, he refuses, claiming that he does not pay for sex. Later, Scott brings John and Susie handguns of their own and teaches them how to shoot. Susie tells John that she feels as if they are on a treadmill and will never have enough money to purchase a salmon boat. One night at work, Scott, now a security guard at the pipeline, stops a truck leaving with a load of equipment without the required paperwork. Sanders tells him to let the truck pass, but Scott senses something is wrong and pulls his gun. The next day, four thugs approach John to inform him that he must quit and Scott is fired by the site manger, who tells him that he is lucky he was not killed. Susie is also fired and the three are evicted from their rented house. Later, Scott goes to a bar and runs into Cindy. They have sex in the backseat of Cindy’s car, but Sanders’s men pull Scott away and beat him. The next day, Scott, John and Susie are reduced to eating dog food and sell their hearse for $250. Taking Sanders’s car for a joyride, Scott and John wreck the vehicle. Afterward, at a bar, they make $400 wagering on John’s ability to urinate for distance. A second bet wins them $600 more from a local, Big Ed, who signs over his payroll check. Scott buys an old Pontiac, but the pipeline payroll office refuses to cash Big Ed’s check so John and Susie convince Scott to rob the payroll office. During the robbery, the police arrive, John takes Cindy hostage and they escape with $2,500. On the road, the Pontiac has a blowout. Unable to find a spare, the companions stop in a town to get the tire fixed. On the radio, they hear that the oil company is offering a $5,000 reward for Cindy’s return. Later, John kills a bear and the four eat well, but John, Susie, and Scott argue over what to do with Cindy. On the ferry back to Washington, Cindy suggests they ask for a $300,000 ransom, claiming that the oil company will pay to avoid negative publicity. Scott calls in the ransom demand to the oil company and the four break into a country house to await the response. The next day, Henderson, a representative of the oil company, brings the money to a railroad yard. During the getaway, Cindy is shot in the shoulder and they drop her off at a hospital. When Scott later points out that the money is likely marked and they will not be able spend it for a few years, Scott and John get jobs in a foundry and set up house with Susie. Susie reminds John that she wants to go away, just the two of them, but he is reluctant. One day, Scott and Susie are alone and they have sex. John returns home and overhears them in the shower and leaves, angry. He drives all night and then steals a camera, but the camera store owner gives chase and attacks John as he drives away. John throws some of the ransom money at the man and bystanders pick it up. John returns home and announces that he is taking his portion of the ransom to Canada, and Scott and Susie insist on going with him. When they steal another car, the tension between them runs high and John stops on a bridge to argue, but they decide to continue on together. Meanwhile, John’s photograph, taken by a surveillance camera at the camera store, comes over a wire machine and links him to the oil company payroll robbery and kidnapping. At the Canadian border, the police attempt to stop the car but John runs the gate. In Canada, numerous police cars are waiting for them, shots are fired, and flying glass injures John. To elude the police, John drives down a dirt road into the wilderness, but the stolen car runs out of gas. Back on the U.S. side of the border, Henderson and law enforcement officials surmise that the outlaws will not survive the night. That evening, Scott goes for help while John and Susie attempt to stay warm in the car. In the morning, Susie cannot wake John, and Scott returns with a stolen van. They finally revive John and drive away in the van, optimistic that they are going to escape.