A newspaper reporter whose last name is Leach (happens to be the surname of Texas Tech's current head football coach as well) goes out to the small west Texas town of "Terra Loco" ("crazy earth"? or "crazy ground") to do a story on a recently deceased town leader/benefactor/patron whose nickname was "The Grandee".

When he starts talking with people, he starts finding out things that weren't common knowledge about the departed man...things that no one in the town seems to want people to know. The man's widow is apparently oblivious to all that her late spouse was involved in...she's a very nice woman. (West Texas is a pretty friendly place. East Texas isn't too bad, for that matter.)

The more the reporter learns, the more hints he's given to get out of town and not say a word about what he's learned. There appears to be a conspiracy around...in fact, there may be dual conspiracies...