A couple mourning the loss of their child rescue a man from a sinking ship, only to find out he's a killer.

It takes audiences deep into the backwaters of steamy 1960s South Florida, as investigative reporter Ward Jansen and his partner Yardley Acheman chase a sensational, career-making story. With the help of Ward's younger brother Jack and sultry death-row groupie Charlotte Bless, the pair tries to prove violent swamp-dweller Hillary Van Wetter was framed for the murder of a corrupt local sheriff.

At the United Nations, a translator overhears discussion of an assassination plan. But when an Fbi agent investigates and digs into the translator's past, he begins to wonder if she is a victim or a suspect.