Lewis Tater writes Wild West dime novels and dreams of actually becoming a cowboy. When he goes west to find his dream he finds himself in possession of the loot box of two crooks who tried to rob him.

While searching for a small fortune of embezzled money, an ex-con, a small-time bandleader, his doting wife and a kooky drifter find themselves being followed. Their chase takes them to trailer camps, bingo halls, laundromats and ultimately, a showdown with a group of unconventional bad guys.

Vada Sultenfuss has a holiday coming up, and an assignment: to do and essay on someone she admires and has never met. She decides she wants to do an assignment on her mother, but quickly realises she knows very little about her. She manages to get her father to agree to let her go to LA to stay with her Uncle Phil and do some research on her mother.