University lecturer Neil Tannahill is drawn into a sinister conspiracy involving secretly-stored Soviet nuclear waste at a remote British nuclear facility after receiving an enigmatic note from legendary atomic scientist and one-time former head of "Doomwatch" (the infamous Scientific watchdog group of the seventies), Dr Spencer Quist.

A scientist is sent to investigate an island where a deadly chemical leak has caused strange mutations in the wildlife. As he delves deeper into the mystery, he uncovers a web of deceit and a potential environmental disaster.