In the dead of Winter 1934, massive amounts of mountain snow force Lakes and Western engineer Caleb McCamy to stop his train. It will be five hours before a railroad snowplow can reach his location. Conditions call for significant decisions, and he relies on Tim Marlow, the train's veteran conductor, to come up with appropriate solutions.

Among the passengers, one is particularly upset. Oil man Stephen Coombs needs additional funding to enlarge his enterprise. Delay threatens his scheduled meeting with Chicago investors. Neither quantities of whiskey nor a captious wife improve his frame of mind.

David Cline travels with his attractive socialite wife on a research trip to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He is considering branching out into commodities futures to supplement his substantial stock market holdings. She simply envisions more wealth coming her way.

Anger and frustration afflict all of them. When a problem on a Pullman car forces another extended stop for repairs, the combination of long delays and tempers growing shorter leads to some unexpected and unfortunate events.