Settling into ranch life outside Reno, Nevada, with her gregarious great-aunt Jeep Reed and Jeep's German Shepherd, King, former Wall Street trader Mags doesn't miss the cutthroat world of investment banking - because its destructive tentacles have reached westward to the Silver State. The foreclosure crisis has taken a huge bite out of the local real estate market, where rows of homes sit unsold and forsaken - but not empty. A group of squatters, including desperate single mothers with children, are living under the radar in the houses on Reno's Yolanda Street - without water or electricity. Big-hearted real estate broker Babs Gallagher enlists Jeep and Mags to start a community outreach program, but that means going up against uncaring utility companies, corrupt officials, ruthless politicians - and a merciless murderer. When a former banker is found brutally slain in one of the abandoned homes, the notion of 'cutthroat business practices' takes on a whole new meaning. Baxter, King, and some other canine detectives leave no bone of contention buried as they help their human charges untangle a string of murders rooted deep in the heart of Red Rock Valley's prominent citizenry. Though Reno deputy - and Mags's unofficial significant other - Pete Meadows uncovers evidence of blackmail, shady real estate ventures, and rumors of lost treasure, the killer seems to hold all the cards in a city of gambling and sin. Luckily, Mags, Jeep, and Babs still have a few tricks up their sleeves. As nefarious sexploits and backroom backstabbing reverberate throughout the county, the dogs are officially off the leash - and on the hunt for a killer. Along the way, they encounter curious coyotes, human kindness and treachery, and a long-buried stash of riches.