An advertising executive finds herself in a small-town jail after being terrorized on a drive from Los Angeles to New York by two hitchhikers who steal her car and leave her unconscious by the roadside. She becomes a fugitive after killing her jailer during a rape attempt and breaking out with one of the hitchhikers who could prove her innocence.

Based on Gail Sheehy's book, this film chronicles how a reporter for a New York City magazine decided to investigate the city's prostitution industry to find out just who was making all the money. What she found out caused a firestorm of controversy--that many of the city's richest and most powerful families and corporations benefited directly and indirectly from the illegal sex business.