The Nicholson family spot an oil slick on the Nicola River on the first day of their vacation in Merritt, BC. Julia resolves the oil slick source, and a series of mysteries that follow, involving the oil industry, federal government, and the Nicola-Coldwater First Nations bands opposed to a new pipeline construction. She and her friend Leah discover a serious pipeline break on Coldwater lands and expose a cover-up by the oil company. The pipeline story climaxes with a major oil spill disaster.