Garbage collectors are still called "dustmen" in Britain. When Lochdubh's dustman, an abusive drunk named Fergus MacLeod, is put in charge of the recycling center, Constable Hamish Macbeth smells trouble. Fergus soon becomes a tyrant with his new power. After his body is found stuffed in a recycling bin, no one's sorry. But Macbeth is surprised when MacLeod's victims refuse to talk.