Dan Williams has built an idyllic life in the remote hills near San Jose, CA. When a frantic call from a neighbor's wife comes, Dan and his uncles are shocked to find their neighbor dead in his workshop. Suspicion falls on Dan when his bloody hammer turns up at the scene. Meanwhile, two mysterious strangers seem to be playing a game of cat and mouse in the area.

Dan soon finds himself as a suspect in the murder, the object of an investigating deputy's grudge and scrambling to try to figure out what happened. Attempts by his Uncle Wally to gather evidence end up getting them deeply embroiled in a case with international connections and ties to mid-twentieth century history.

He attempts to clear his name and find the real killer while Syd, his faithful cattle dog, tries to keep both of them out of trouble.