A Seattle art buyer name Hans purchases a superb painting from an old lady name Moira (Joan Benedict) and delivers the painting to the beautiful Lacy Anderson (Catherine Oxenberg). Lacy decides she wants to represent the unknown painter, so Lacy and her assistant Polly travel to remote Dark Hollow in Western Montana. Lacy meets the artist, Sean (Eric Roberts) and they are struck by a hot sexual attraction, but Sean avoids her despite his obvious interest.

Lacy pursues Sean and they get acquainted hiking in the mountains. Lacy slips and has a concussion. She awakens in Sean’s bed, in his cabin by a glacier fed lake. Sean and an old man, Ben (Rod Steiger) takes care of her. The passion between lacy and Sean flares as she becomes involved in his paintings. Sean wants Lacy to stay with him. Lacy is in love with Sean but knows she must return to her gallery in Seattle. When Lacy is gone Sean enters the ice cavern, spouting biblical phrases of death and redemption.

Polly returns to Dark Hollow looking for Lacy. She is intercepted and captured by Sean. Lacy discovers that Polly came back to Dark Hollow and tracks her desperately. Lacy discovers Ben, his mind slipping into madness, holding Moira at gunpoint. Sean’s childhood is revealed. Sean witnessed his mother’s adultery. He suffered in horror as his father, drowned his mother and committed suicide. Realizing that Sean is a killer, Lacy races to Sean’s house to find Polly. She arrives at the icehouse to discover Polly chained to a table. Sean shows lacy his masterpiece, the Maternal Ice Tomb. Encased in the tomb are three beautiful nude women entwined in an abstract pose of innocence and love. Sean is about to kill Lacy when she is saved by Moira’s friend Ethan. Ethan discovers that his missing girlfriend is in the ice and begins chopping the ice sculpture. Sean recovers and attempts to kill Ethan but Lacy grabs Ethan’s gun and shoots Sean several times. Ethan, Polly and Lacy leave the ice house, but when Moira comes to seen Sean’s body, he is gone, with blood tracks leading out in to the frozen lake

Lacy returns to Seattle and, months later, is horrified to find a new painting by Sean arriving for a gallery show. Lacy receives a phone call…Sean is still alive!