With a lighthearted tone, the film follows one woman's quest for an environmentally sound cladding for her parents' house in Merrick, Long Island, New York.

It also investigates the many negative health effects of polyvinyl chloride in its production, use and disposal, focusing on the communities of Lake Charles and Mossville, Louisiana, and Venice, Italy.

The documentary comes out of Helfand's desire to have a safer environment for her parents to live in, after she discovers that they covered their house in vinyl siding.

After spending time in Lake Charles, Helfand and her team travel to Venice, Italy, where they meet more citizens hurt by large vinyl productions plants.

Helfand meets and interviews Dr. Caesar Maltone, a biologist whose experiments helped to create the basis for most of the lawsuits against vinyl production plants around the world.

The documentary reveals that a few large vinyl production companies signed a secrecy agreement to make sure Maltone's findings stay secret from the rest of the world.

To end the film, she finds a safe alternative to vinyl siding by using repurposed wood, and gives her parents' house good protection from the elements, while being environmentally and economically conscious.

PVC or polyvinyl chloride production dates back to the 19th century but began being widely used in the 1950s when companies discovered its versatility.

[2] Hefland investigates these newer concerns with the production of PVC and tries to determine whether companies like the vinyl institute were committed to protecting their consumers with these types of guidelines.

During production, it emits toxic byproducts including dioxin, which has been linked to many cancers, neurological damage, respiratory problems, and birth defects among others.

[citation needed] The documentary communicates the issue of uninformed consumers that purchase PVC as a cheap and efficient building material.

The film explains the dangers of what could happen if this substance goes near a flame considering it is highly flammable and will release toxic fumes when burned.

Lori Sanzone, a woman diagnosed with angiosarcoma of liver (ASL), a type of cancer associated with vinyl exposure, had her diagnosis changed to a different disease.

[8] He noted that a star witness supporting the claim that exposure to vinyl production can cause ASL, Lori Sanzone, is missing from the DVD version.