James Dashiell is a dick. The toughest P.I. in all of Palookaville. At least that's how he fancies himself. Truth is he's flunked out of the police academy five times, and has little more than a lost kitten to his case credits but when Wanda Warrendoffleekhifenstein walks into his life, that all changes. Her brother's sister's aunt's uncle's mother's friend's son was murdered and she wants Dashiell to find the killer. Now he has to scourer the seedy underbelly of the city, running afoul of busboys, waitresses, film fanatics, hobos, hookers, horny geriatrics, and even the police. If he wants the truth, he'll have to keep digging. If he wants fame and fortune, he'll have to stay alive.