Can a mutt beat purebreds in a hunting competition without things getting nasty? That is the question in this romp that also begs the question: How far will one man go to prove his dog has the best nose around? Pretty far as it turns out. Julian Crane is unaware when he wants to enter his dog in the local rabbit-hunting contest that the group and its leader are prejudiced against mixed-breed dogs. But he finds out and vows that he and his mutt will not only join the group, they will catch the rabbit. Julian wants the narrator to help him train a winning hunting dog, but the narrator is more interested in regaling Julian and his friends--troubled alcoholic Monroe Mooning and prima donna political science major Richard Prienkin--with his stories. Some are from when he was a young man hunting in the South and others are just stories with no purpose whatsoever, except in the narrator's mind, but the boys enjoy them nonetheless. After several missteps, some cheating on the part of the hunting group and its leader, and some creative thinking (or conning) on Julian's part, the boys have a contest winner. Does the little red hound have the best nose around? You bet.