On the evening of November 5, 1975, a group of loggers saw a bright crimson light in a forest in White Mountains, Arizona. Curious, Travis Walton goes out for a closer look and is pushed to the ground by a blue-green energy beam. His co-workers escape in terror and they inform the police that Travis has been abducted by a flying saucer. For the next five days, Travis remains missing and the loggers endure ridicule and contempt as they are accused of murder. When he is found alive, Travis is unable to account the missing days, but the amazing ordeal slowly begins to emerge.