David, an independent photographer, and his girlfriend Katia, leave Los Angeles to explore the desert terrain in search of a natural set for a magazine photo shoot. The attractive couple finds a motel at 29 Palms, and subsequently spend their days on their four-wheelers, discovering the Joshua Tree Desert. Driving around with utter freedom, they lose themselves on nameless roads and trails. Their trip is filled with bouts of frantic sex, impassioned fights, and hasty reconciliations. However, soon their relationship begins to collapse, and elements of menace and fear begin to plague their time spent together, as something horrible and hideous descends upon them.