This novella has a simple premise: just a few acts of ecoterrorism can ruin your whole summer.
July runs into August, and Holiday Warrior, a trawler yacht, runs into a drifting naval mine. The resulting explosion echoes across much of the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia. The debris rains down onto the otherwise serene waters of Queen Charlotte Strait, dusting the low, westerly swell. The gulls and the seals race to the spot and chow down on anything edible.
As the reports come in, a junior manager in the Harbour Office of Port McNeill feels the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Not content to rely exclusively on the authorities, he begins his own investigation.
He soon finds himself in a race to uncover the truth before the beginning of the next boating season, before anyone else has to die, before anyone else becomes a Smörgåsbord Board for the local wildlife.