At a time of chronic civil unrest in late 1960s America, two perfect strangers cross paths. During a violent students' revolt, Mark, an idealist armed with a gun, finds himself on the run from the police, bound for the scorching Death Valley in California. In the meantime, free-spirited anthropology student Daria is driving across the vast desert's empty stretch of highway in her slate-grey 1952 Buick Special. And before long, the two rebellious youngsters have a chance encounter. As the pair of passionate romantics sweep each other off their feet and start an unrestrained romance in a flawed world, their flawless bodies intertwine, making love on Zabriskie Point's eroded, dusty terrain.—Nick Riganas