Tom Conard works for the EPA in Western North Carolina. When he helps a man take a 55 gallon blue barrel off his truck to place it in a storage unit, something doesn't seem right. He's afraid the man is trying to dispose of some illegal substance. He has no idea how his life is about to change. He tries to get, Howard Hesterling, the man he rents his storage unit from, to check out the contents of the barrel. But Howard refuses, telling Tom it's none of his business. Tom goes to Sheriff Stan Sutton with his suspicions and he, also, refuses to disturb a perfectly innocent action.
Before Tom is finished, the FBI has him working full time on the most disturbing thing he's ever seen. Tom has a criminologist degree and has always wanted to become a detective. Because of his stature, 5' 7" and over two hundred-fifty plus pounds, he can't make the regulations. After the FBI brings him on as a consultant, though, and he works the case for them, he's not sure he wants to become a detective after all.