George Bellamy, married just three months, has gotten another woman pregnant. That woman's brother meets Bellamy in a cabin in a national forest in the middle of a fire alert area. A fight breaks out. Bellamy accidentally kills the man. Bellamy, desperate, starts a fire he knows will set off a broader blaze to cover up the crime. As it becomes evident this was no accidental fire, the FBI is called in to investigate. as Erskine and Rhodes piece things together, Bellamy finds himself in deeper and deeper, especially after his pregnant girlfriend dies in the hospital.
—Bill Koenig