In the U.S., the latest estimates suggest that 1.5 million (out of 2.4 million total beehives) have disappeared across 27 states. In Germany, according to the national beekeepers association, one fourth of all colonies have been destroyed with losses reaching up to 80 percent on some farms. The same phenomenon has been observed in Switzerland, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Poland and England, where this syndrome has been nicknamed "the Mary Celeste Phenomenon" after a ship whose crew vanished in 1872.

The film addresses the issue of why bees are disappearing at high rates.