A man is killed when a chemical explosion takes place on his farm. His impoverished widow, Angie, is fighting for compensation from the waste management company who chose to store their dangerous chemicals on her land. This brings her up against barrister Trish Maguire, equally determined to protect her clients - the company. But as Trish delves deeper into the case, she grows more and more troubled by a nagging thought: was the explosion that killed Angie's husband really an accident, or the result of sabotage? And, if so, who could possibly have had the motive to commit a crime so horrendous, and with such far-reaching repercussions?

With all this going on at work, the last thing Trish needs is the possibility of explosions at home. Yet such she faces, in the person of Jay: a clever but damaged fourteen-year-old boy, who has attached himself to her family. Trish is drawn to Jay and feels compelled to help him but, when his mother is discovered beaten and close to death on the housing estate where they live, Trish begins to wonder if they'll all get out alive.