Any movie with Lysa Dean's names in it was a box-office smash. And any compromising photographs of the famous actress were bound to be big money-earners for anyone disposed to blackmail. And somebody obviously was that way inclined - Travis McGee just had to find out who. There were two difficulties: the notes accompanying the photos seemed to be products of a particularly sick, twisted mind; and the other people in the pictures started turning up...

He's a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He's also a knight errant who's wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out and his rule is simple: he'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half.