diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8fb2472..61d4d03 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -153,10 +153,12 @@ sequence is intentional. Logging redacts common credential names as well as arbi
 query names added by `apiKeyAuth()`.
 
 Retries default to `GET`, `HEAD`, `PUT`, `DELETE`, and `OPTIONS`, and to statuses `408`, `425`,
-`429`, `500`, `502`, `503`, and `504`. `Retry-After` is honored when present. Cloneable request
-bodies are replayed with the original bytes and headers. `ReadableStream` bodies are explicitly
-single-attempt so retry does not buffer an unbounded stream. If an earlier middleware has already
-consumed any body, retry also sends it once and does not surface an incidental cloning error.
+`429`, `500`, `502`, `503`, and `504`. Valid `Retry-After` values are honored up to
+`maxRetryAfter` (60 seconds by default); malformed values use the normal backoff. Cloneable
+request bodies are replayed with the original bytes and headers. `ReadableStream` bodies are
+explicitly single-attempt so retry does not buffer an unbounded stream. If an earlier middleware
+has already consumed any body, retry also sends it once and does not surface an incidental cloning
+error.
 
 Do not include a status such as `401` in `retry()` when an upstream authentication middleware
 already handles that status. The outer authentication layer cannot react until retry's complete
diff --git a/src/middleware.ts b/src/middleware.ts
index b857ce3..dac3191 100644
--- a/src/middleware.ts
+++ b/src/middleware.ts
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ export interface RetryOptions {
   statuses?: readonly number[];
   /** Computes the delay (ms) before the given retry attempt, if no `Retry-After` header is present. */
   delay?: (attempt: number) => number;
+  /** Maximum delay (ms) accepted from `Retry-After`. Defaults to 60 seconds. */
+  maxRetryAfter?: number;
 }
 /**
  * Middleware that retries failed requests. Retries eligible methods on network failures
@@ -98,6 +100,9 @@ export function retry(options: RetryOptions = {}): Middleware {
   const attempts = options.attempts ?? 3;
   const methods = options.methods ?? ["GET", "HEAD", "PUT", "DELETE", "OPTIONS"];
   const statuses = options.statuses ?? [408, 425, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504];
+  const maxRetryAfter = options.maxRetryAfter ?? 60_000;
+  if (!Number.isFinite(maxRetryAfter) || maxRetryAfter < 0)
+    throw new TypeError("maxRetryAfter must be a non-negative finite number");
   return async (context, next) => {
     if (!methods.includes(context.request.method)) return next(context);
     if (context.replayableBody === false) return next(context);
@@ -119,12 +124,17 @@ export function retry(options: RetryOptions = {}): Middleware {
       attempt++
     ) {
       const retryAfter = "response" in result ? result.response?.headers.get("retry-after") : null;
-      const wait = retryAfter
+      const fallback = () => options.delay?.(attempt) ?? 100 * 2 ** (attempt - 2);
+      const parsedRetryAfter = retryAfter
         ? /^\d+$/.test(retryAfter)
           ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000
           : Math.max(0, Date.parse(retryAfter) - Date.now())
-        : (options.delay?.(attempt) ?? 100 * 2 ** (attempt - 2));
-      if (context.deadline && Date.now() + wait >= context.deadline) break;
+        : undefined;
+      const wait =
+        parsedRetryAfter === undefined || !Number.isFinite(parsedRetryAfter)
+          ? fallback()
+          : Math.min(parsedRetryAfter, maxRetryAfter);
+      if (context.deadline !== undefined && Date.now() + wait >= context.deadline) break;
       const ready = await new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
         const onAbort = () => {
           clearTimeout(timer);
diff --git a/tests/fetch.test.ts b/tests/fetch.test.ts
index aa72ed4..22ea7b1 100644
--- a/tests/fetch.test.ts
+++ b/tests/fetch.test.ts
@@ -324,6 +324,50 @@ describe("fetch contracts", () => {
     expect(result).toMatchObject({ ok: true, data: "ok" });
     expect(transport).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
   });
+  it("should validate and clamp Retry-After before enforcing the deadline", async () => {
+    const exercise = async (
+      retryAfter: string,
+      retryOptions: Parameters<typeof retry>[0],
+      timeout?: number,
+    ) => {
+      const transport = vi
+        .fn<(request: Request) => Promise<Response>>()
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce(
+          new Response("later", {
+            status: 429,
+            headers: { "content-type": "text/plain", "retry-after": retryAfter },
+          }),
+        )
+        .mockResolvedValue(new Response("ok", { headers: { "content-type": "text/plain" } }));
+      const result = await createFetch({
+        middleware: [retry(retryOptions)],
+        fetch: transport,
+        ...(timeout === undefined ? {} : { timeout }),
+      })({ url: "https://x.test", response: text(), errors: { 429: text() } });
+      return { result, transport };
+    };
+
+    const fallback = vi.fn(() => 1_000);
+    const malformed = await exercise("not-a-real-date", { attempts: 2, delay: fallback }, 5);
+    expect(fallback).toHaveBeenCalledWith(2);
+    expect(malformed.transport).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    const clamped = await exercise(
+      "Fri, 31 Dec 9999 23:59:59 GMT",
+      {
+        attempts: 2,
+        maxRetryAfter: 0,
+      },
+      5,
+    );
+    expect(clamped.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true });
+    expect(clamped.transport).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+
+    const valid = await exercise("0", { attempts: 2, delay: () => 1_000 });
+    expect(valid.result).toMatchObject({ ok: true });
+    expect(valid.transport).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(() => retry({ maxRetryAfter: Number.NaN })).toThrow(/non-negative finite number/);
+  });
   it.each(["status", "network"] as const)(
     "should retry replayable PUT bodies after a %s failure",
     async (failure) => {