At the encouragement of her manager, Kiki Walker, a nightclub performer in New Mexico, takes a leashed leopard into the club as a publicity gimmick. But her rival, angered by the attempt to upstage, scares the animal and it bolts. In the days that follow, people are mauled and the countryside is combed for the loose creature. But Kiki and her manager begin to wonder if the leopard is not actually responsible for the killings.—Ken Yousten