Usually, Albuquerque P.I. Bubba Mabry has trouble finding enough cases to keep his agency afloat. Hell, Bubba has trouble with just about everything. Then he's hired for a case that seems tailor-made for him: quick and easy. The teenage son of a Texas millionaire is missing. The millionaire's had no luck with the high-tech, out-of-towner, loudmouth P.I. he already hired, and wants Bubba to help out. Of course, the loudmouth is on William J. Pool, who just happens to be Bubba's nemesis in the P.I. business. He's made a fool of Bubba more than once. Not an ideal situation, but perhaps a chance for Bubba to regain some face, and earn some much-needed cash as well.

So, it sounds like easy money. But then, just at the worst possible time, Bubba's long-missing father turns up, clearly suffering from Alzheimer's. The last thing Bubba needs is a distraction from such an important case, especially a distraction that is so troubling. Trying to sort out their relationship and confront his conflicted feelings for a man who deserted him as a child promises to be practically as difficult for Bubba as locating the troubled teenager.