While driving through the Naveda Desert to the Salt Lake, Pete Jackson (Henry Thomas) and his wife Mary (Annabeth Gish) were arrested by Officer Kerry because of a flat tire. Kerry took the couple to Despair, and Jackson was horrified to find that the town was full of corpses. When they realized that they were in danger, the evil Kerry finally showed his hideous face and shot Pete. In prison, Mary met the Kavo family, local Tom (Charles Durning) and writer John (Tom Skerritt). They planned to escape from this murderous den, and with the magical power of David (Shane Haboucha), the youngest son of the Kavo couple, they learned about a tragedy that happened in Despair 150 years ago...