Entomologist Dr. James Atherton searches the Amazon rainforest with the hope of discovering new species of insects and arachnids. In a Venezuela tepui, Atherton finds a very aggressive new species of spider. The spider is captured and chloroformed for research, and is later revealed to be lacking sex organs, thus making it a drone, or soldier - atypical in spiders. A nature photographer, Jerry Manley, unknowingly has a fertile (non-drone) male spider of the same species jump into his backpack, later that day sneaking into his sleeping bag and biting him. Manley has a massive seizure from the venom and dies. The remainder of the scientists take his body back to the United States, blaming Manley's death on a fever. The spider crawls into the coffin and is sealed in with the corpse.