After his brush with death while investigating his friend Paulie's suspicious death in Vietnam, Matt Kronchek and his wife, Karen, need a vacation. They choose the small, isolated southern island of Pinechap, which seems far away from the troubles of the world. His best friend, Leo, and Karen's sister, Beth, invite themselves along, and events soon take a nasty turn. Ever the magnet for trouble, Matt and his friends are soon knee deep with mobsters, pollution, and a murdered girl. They promise to help a physically disabled Thalidomide child and his father solve the mystery of Pinechap. They realize that there is only one way in and one way out of Pinechap. They found their way in, but now they have to get out alive.