It's three a.m. and Arthur Conan Edwards (Ace) is in the arms of Morpheus when the phone utters its grating sounds. Johnny Nichols of Grand Saline, TX is being blackmailed because of he strayed from the connubial bed. Ace accepts the case and he and his cats, Sweeper and Striker, are soon immersed in the shady dealings of Jade and Hugo, the blackmailers. He meets Mrs. Loticia Adams, Johnny's mother-in-law, the formidable matriarch of Grand Saline who informs Ace in no uncertain terms that she does not believe him qualified to handle the situation. He also meets Johnny's son who believes himself destined to lead the country. Even as Ace resolves the blackmail scheme, disaster strikes. Carsen Levitt (Kit), a female PI from Dallas and Ace's close friend, enters the case. With other personalities from Van Zandt County and Ace's previous cases, Ace and Kit face problems not normally found in simple mysteries. Is Clark's Ferry haunted? How many murders are too many? Are the cats' strange antics clues to the case? Ace and Kit find out.