Ray Midge is waiting for his credit card bill to arrive. His wife, Norma, has run off with her ex-husband, taking Ray's cards, shotgun, and car. But from the receipts, Ray can track where they've gone. He takes off after them, as does an irritatingly tenacious bail bondsman, both following the romantic couple's spending from Arkansas, down to Mexico, and into Honduras. Along the way Ray meets Dr. Reo Symes, a seemingly down-on-his-luck and rather eccentric owner of a beaten up and broken down bus—"The Dog of the South." This crazily optimistic dreamer is obsessed with secret knowledge, and one John Selmer Dix, the elusive writer of inspirational books for salesmen, needs a ride to Belize. The further they drive, in a car held together by coat-hangers and excesses of oil, the wilder their journey gets. But they're not going to give up easily.

Portis spins an extraordinary novel that addresses with comic eloquence the deep longing of the American psyche for things just to make some sense.