Linda Kasabian leaves home at 16 for California. She marries Bob but he abandons her and their baby Tanya for South America. Susan Atkins recruits her into Charles Manson's family who are living at elderly George Spahn's old western movie set. Manson predicts a coming race war Helter Skelter leading the group to a string of murders.

The first sin of this Lifetime TV movie is that it fails to give a sense of the time. The cast is unable to shine in a sea of unimpressive performances. The best scene is Manson daring a guy to kill him. For that one instance, the movie shows the possibility of something with greater intensity. The rest of this movie is forgettable and lackluster. Even the Sharon Tate section lacks intensity. A Lifetime TV movie can't go down that violent road compared to other options today