Rufus Miller is a lawyer in Austin, Texas, who has paid his dues to life.
He has an ex-wife, an ex-girlfriend, a daughter who writes country music lyrics, and a collection of clients and acquaintances who hover around the country music business--or in the case of superstar country singer Jethro Polk, stands smack-dab in the center of things.
Not only is Jethro Polk one of the very biggest names in country music, he has taken up romantically with Rufus Miller's ex-girlfriend and love of his life, Frances Chamberlain.
Then Miller's friends and associates start turning up dead, and some people point the finger at him.
The first person to bite the Texas dust is Miller's client, the small-time country music hanger-on Sonny Jamieson.
Jamieson owes money to Miller. Some people think maybe Miller is collecting his debt another way.
Meanwhile, Jethro Polk has a big new hit song, called "Gettin' Lost With You."
The lyrics and tune of "Gettin' Lost With You" sound suspiciously like something out of the notebook of Miller's daughter, Ginger, where she scrawls her ideas for country music songs.
Rufus Miller confronts Polk, but Polk denies everything. How would he steal from Ginger's notebook? He doesn't even know her. Polk strikes back by asking Miller why he left Connecticut for Texas. Did Miller have some trouble back East that he would rather leave behind?
"Gettin' Lost With You" makes it big on the radio, and Polk sings his new hit song at a live concert.
But Polk doesn't return to the stage after intermission. He and Frances, Miller's ex-girlfriend, are found dead in Polk's trailer.
Rufus Miller has every reason in the world to exact revenge from Sonny Jamieson, Jethro Polk, and Frances Chamberlain.
But did he?
Read this country music murder mystery and find out for yourself. Discover the truth behind this tangled string of crimes that runs through the heart of Austin's country music business underground.
