An abandoned research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Five dead marine scientists who were tracking a furtive tanker for offshore dumping. While Government agencies squabble over jurisdiction for the killings no one is taking responsibility for the tanker. That unwanted task falls at last to Tony Lowell: a pot-smoking environmentalist and private investigator who knows the Gulf and knows how to sail. Lowell is laid back as only a former Navy SEAL-turned hippy can be: a nonconformist who refuses to carry a gun. But he is now the last man left with skills and knowledge of the Gulf who is willing to face an unknown terror at sea and prevent a global environmental catastrophe.