Joe Simpson is a cynical reporter haunted by childhood memories. It's the 1960s, and Joe has fled the big city only to end up in the small resort town of Applewood. Writing for the Gazette, Joe's life is uneventful until strange events begin to unfold. A young girl drowns off a motorboat, and a local farmer plants a hoe in his wife's back. The assistant manageress of the bank vanishes without a trace. Why is the whole town going crazy? Things heat up even more when the town's first hippie opens up a record shop and invites his menacing friends to take up residence. Meanwhile, big money is moving in to develop the town's shoreline into a glitzy resort. Applewood is about to erupt, and it is Joe's job to get to the bottom of it.