When John 'Smitty' Smith is called into the office and given his official notice of dismissal from government employment, he is offered another position. In an effort to keep working long enough to get enough time to vest his pension with the government, John accepts a transfer. He is not told what his new assignment will entail, but he is told it is 'a lateral transfer'. He then finds himself sent to a secret facility in the Southwest, very close to the border with Mexico.