Ellis Easterland was dying of cancer...so why did somebody decide to have him beaten to death in such an ugly fashion? His son wants Travis to find out. A trail through the worlds of biker outlaws and hot-air ballooning leads to a twisted porno ring in the hands of some people who are so respectable they are above the law...making it a puzzle for McGee how to give them their comeuppance. McGee looks up Lysa Dean from The Quick Red Fox to help him infiltrate a movie company for the denoument, and Lt. Goodbread from The Scarlet Ruse shows up briefly to help. Meyer has a hard time this go-round when he's captured by the bad guy and gets his self-esteem tested to destruction. During the investigation McGee falls hard for hotelier Annie Renzetti, though she's only 5'2".