Detective John Goode has the worst luck a man could have, sometimes. And yet, somehow, he always finds a way to solve a case. He lost one eye in an explosion near a school full of children in Los Angeles when he worked for the LAPD. After that, he started drinking whiskey occasionally, because of migraine headaches, and because he did not want to become dependent on narcotic pain pills. After a while, the booze became a crutch to help him cope with the depression that followed losing one eye. Before very long, his wife wanted a divorce because of the drinking, and he was asked to retire from his job as a police officer. He took his retirement pension and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to open a private investigator business.

When Detective Goode is asked to find $2,000,000 that was stolen from the horse racetrack in Las Vegas, and promised 10 percent for returning it, he drives across four states on the only lead he has in Monroe, Louisiana, to search for the money and the man who stole it.