A satellite crashes near a remote desert town, releasing a lethal extraterrestrial virus and forcing a team of scientists to race against time to find a cure. Robert Wise's sci-fi thriller based on Michael Crichton's novel, starring Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson and Kate Reid.

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico, are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scramble to a secure laboratory and try to first isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.