The year is 1942, and Eleanor Roosevelt is convinced that there is an imposter in the White House masquerading as Fala, FDR’s prized Scottie. Positive that a shady veterinarian has absconded with the genuine pooch, Eleanor turns for help to that much-battered and near penniless private eye: Toby Peters.

Never one to refuse a lady in distress, much less the First Lady, the unflappable detective gamely agrees to search for the pilfered canine. What follows is a high-speed, hilarious romp about L.A. and its environs in which Toby encounters a lethal ex-wrestler named Elmo and a bookie with a powerful passion for the Academy Awards.