Salter Yates looked at his surprise vacation to Las Vegas as a dream come true. His plans for the trip did not include helping a Viet Nam vet with car trouble nor the strange twists that followed. The vetas uncle, who happens to be the worldas richest man, is suddenly missing. Salteras trials begin with a buzzard shattering his windshield. Then he watches three men set off the sprinkler while robbing a gas station. Arriving at the airport, he inexplicably hides an obnoxious womanas purse at the flight gate. The uncle, also on his flight, is traveling with the armed robbers from the station. Arriving in Las Vegas brings more complications. The billionaire wants help in foiling an anthrax attack by anti-global activists. A comely cocktail waitress, computer hacking, a harrowing cab ride, and a raid to recover endangered snake eggs test Salteras ability to sort reality from the absurd.