FAQ

Relatively close; the novel is darker and has some very disturbing scenes of Doc and Carol's experiences trying to get to El Rey. The novel also chronicles their arrival in El Rey, which they find to be a luxurious prison. The people who run El Rey ruthlessly exploit the wealthy fugitives that flock there. They won't be extradited, but they can't leave, are forced to spend huge amounts of money on luxury goods, and Doc discovers that when their money runs out, they'll be sent to a village to survive on their own, and that the village is overrun with suicide and cannibalism. Doc and Carol actually plot to kill the other so that their money will last longer. They find this out, and while realizing they still love each other, they also regret the choices they made that led them to their present situation. At the very end, they seem to be contemplating either an attempt to escape El Rey, or a double suicide.

P.S. In the novel, Doc is most definitely a murderer, whereas the movie tries to paint him as a reluctant killer. And frankly, the novel is much more violent than a typical Peckinpah movie.