Billy Starkey is sent to prison as an 18 year old when, after two of his friends are shot in the head, he refuses to cooperate with the police and provide testimony against reputed mobsters. Upon his release, both the criminals and law enforcement won't let him out of the world of crime. He and his girl friend, Sherry, flee to Cedar Key, Florida, take on new identities and hide. When they are discovered by an intrepid Federal agent, Billy must infiltrate a gang of drug smugglers who use boxes of clams to hide the scent of the drugs in order to gain his freedom. "Bocas del Toro," an island in the Caribbean off the northern coast of Panama, seems to be the only way out.