Writer Dennis McCutcheon is facing the loss of his job at a small Pennsylvania university while coping with the aftereffects of a bitter divorce. But when his alma mater Wayne State University offers to produce one of his plays, Swept Away, the news seems like the solution to all his problems.

From there, Dennis falls almost immediately into a love affair with a beautiful married woman, only to suddenly find himself mugged on a Detroit street, then suspected of killing his lover's husband. His luck is coming at a price, and he begins to suspect he may be the pawn in a clever murder plot centering on sex and money.

Filled with pop culture references, and spiced by possible paranormal activities, Arnie Johnston's Swept Away is a raucous and unpredictable adventure unfolding amid Detroit neighborhoods and landmarks, a page-turning story questioning all the while America's preoccupation with fame and fortune.