Soldiers stop at a New Mexico outpost in order to deliver equipment to a group of atomic scientists. When they arrive at the isolated research camp, however, they find it mysteriously deserted. After spotting a distress signal in a distant mountain range, the team decides to embark on a search and rescue mission with the hope of locating the missing scientists. Little do they know that these are the very hills that the ill-fated Carter family once visited and that a tribe of cannibalistic mutants lies in wait. This time, there is an even larger force of evil at work. The family patriarch, Papa Hades, plans to keep the women as breeders in order to ensure the survival of the mutant clan. Thus, the inexperienced group of soldiers must learn to band together against a foe that is intent on their very destruction.