Sheriff Ray Pacheco returns from his introduction in The Bootlegger's Legacy to start a new chapter as a private investigator, along with his partners: Tyee Chino, often-drunk Apache fishing guide, and Big Jack, bait shop owner and philosopher. The trio are pulled into a mystery immediately when an abandoned showdog appears at Ray's cabin and the dog's owner is reported missing. Ray and his team pursue leads that bring them into confrontations with the local Sheriff, the mayor, and the FBI, while in the meantime two bodies are found-neither of which is the missing woman.