Beginning in Minnesota in 1951, an entomologist searches for a rare beetle while he works as an inspection agent for the FDA. He is a flour inspector and makes sure there are not too many contaminants present in the flour that is transported across North America. His next field entry takes him to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1954, where he searches for a molded bag of flour on a naval base. By 1963, the scientist is in Quebec looking for a specific kind of water beetle. There, he meets a group of young boys who help him in his search. He tells the boys the story of the Ichneumon fly. Now retired, in 1967 the scientist finds himself in Quebec researching beetles that occupy a nearby swamp. He studies their life cycles by keeping them in his garage. Finally, in 1982, the scientist and his fourteen-year-old granddaughter sit on the edge of a dried up pond bed. His granddaughter asks about the drought and his beetles while he reminisces about the past.