Caterpillar Island is off the central coast of Maine, on the way to the beloved vacationland of lobster bakes and quaint fried clam shacks, kayaking and country houses. At night, though, by the light of a headlamp, the island is alive with cash, guns, international trade wars, and baby eels. Across the surrounding coastline, oxy addicts, trailer park residents, Wabanaki Natives, and out-of-work construction workers dip their nets in the creeks to catch elvers-two-inch-long baby eels that fetch $3000 from unscrupulous smugglers.

Into this dark and often dangerous world falls Jeanette King, a middle-aged divorcée who has, up to this moment, been earning her living holding down three jobs, most importantly as a shucker and packager of local crab meat. As Jeanette gets drawn, at first unwillingly, into a fast-moving story of risk and sometimes violent consequences which seem to revolve around her ex-husband, she enlists the aid of close confederates-a local policeman and an Indigenous activist. An ensuing procession of colorful townies, unexpected plot twists, and dangerous outsiders creates an entertaining, enlightening tale of what happens in the underbelly of a business that is both uncontrolled and environmentally dangerous.