Steve Malone, an agent from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is sent to a military base in Alabama to test possible effects on the surrounding Ecosystem caused by military actions. With him is his teenage daughter from his first marriage, Marti, his second wife Carol, and Marti's half brother Andy. On their way to the base, they stop at a gas station. In the restroom, Marti is threatened by an military police member with a knife. When he notices her fear, he lets go of her, satisfied that she shows an emotional response. Before she leaves the room, he warns her, "they get you when you sleep".