It's the summer of 1934, and Carmel is abuzz with rumors concerning a local club preaching that the Communist doctrine can solve the woes of the bad economy.  In San Francisco, striking longshoremen, led by Communist-leaning agitators, are tying up deliveries and causing Carmel businesses to suffer without products on their shelves. Some villagers fear the Communists will soon be flying the Red flag over City Hall.  To counteract these problems, Carmel Pine Cone reporter Nora Finnegan has been hired by famous newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, a staunch anti-Communist, to find the person in town whom he believes is funding the Red cause.  Added to the turmoil, to Nora's discomfort, an old friend has come under the spell of a doctor peddling medicinal herbs and "forest baths". Can Nora uncover the spy in time, and also convince her friend to reexamine her options?