Former ATF investigator Eli Hurlbert has no definite plans after winning over $150 million in the Virginia lottery. He quits his job, buys a used Winnebago, and along with his Golden Retriever, Earl, heads west. Although his sights are on a possible winter along the California coast, when he discovers the body of an octogenarian in a trailer park in Quartzsite, Arizona, Eli is drawn into an intriguing mystery that could change his life forever. The victim's granddaughter, Samantha Carroll, and best friend, Harvey Schubert, quickly become a part of Eli's determination to ensure that local officials don't dismiss the death as a simple burglary gone sour or even suicide. Unraveling the mystery of a murder in the desert leads to eerie Los Alamos, New Mexico, home of the 1940s Manhattan Project, angry descendants of Hispanic laborers on "the Hill," atomic spies, and the victim's estranged son by a project chemist. This initial mystery novel by author George Padgett promises more than a good story. It challenges our views on life, on love and on the realities of growing old in a fast paced and complex world.