Hank Hound, New Orleans most famous private detective is impatient for a case when an apparent fraud becomes an apparent kidnapping and then an apparent murder. Even the criminals are confused. Besieging the wealthy Ardway family are the Owls, persistent if not particularly intelligent burglars, a sociopathic beauty and a dangerous criminal mastermind. It will take all of Hank's disguise talents and the help of a gumshoe reporter and an honest but greedy attorney to assemble the puzzle pieces. Lives are at stake if Hank doesn't solve the complicated case in time. And at the end he finds more than he expected, making it his last case.