Doan, a chubby, wisecracking private eye, and Carstairs, a Great Dane so huge he ought to be considered a new species, follow a trail of mayhem and confusion from Hollywood to the Mojave Desert town of Heliotrope, a place so thoroughly offensive that neither California nor Nevada will admit that it lies within its borders. It's 1943 and Doan is persuaded by government agents to sweet-talk the location of a valuable ore deposit out of an old desert rat with a mad-on for the government. But first they have to deal with a number of other equally odd characters, including film star Susan Sally, the very lovely and very wacky Harriet Hathaway, who's about to become a WAAC, Doc Gravelmeyer, the sinister local medico who also doubles as an undertaker, and Mr. Blue, a man of mystery who claims he doesn't even know there's a war going on. There's plenty of action, including a wild chase through Hollywood studio backlots, and even more laughs, before Carstairs finally gets his man.

Doan, a chubby private eye with a fondness for weak women and strong drink, and Carstairs, his enormous Great Dane sidekick, have been hired by 54-year-old but still glamorous beauty maven Heloise of Hollywood to make sure that no young lovely tries to steal her 26-year-old hunk of a husband, Eric Trent. Originally published in 1946.