At Mile 81 on the Maine Turnpike is a boarded-up rest stop, a place where teens drink and get into trouble.

Pete Simmons sneaks away from his older brother and arrives there, where he finds a bottle of vodka and magazines.

A mud-covered station wagon (when there had not been any rain in New England for over a week) veers into the Mile 81 rest area, ignoring the sign that says "closed, no services".

In the version in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, several more characters are eaten by the station wagon, including a horse owner, an insurance man, the parents of two young children, and a police trooper.

The story received a starred review from Library Journal with Mike Rogers calling it a no-brainer to purchase.