The going has gotten tough, and Ned ''Dog'' Oglivie has gone fishing. Fly fishing. For trout. All across America. At least until his money runs out .Driven by tragedy to turn his back on human society, the Dog is on a quest to fish himself into oblivion. And he's nearly made it. Playing the back highways of America in a wounded old RV .

provisioned with a supply of peanut butter sandwiches, bad cigars, and vodka-Tang . armed with a loaded pistol (for when the money runs out) . the Dog is nearly at the end of his tether when he rolls into little Black Earth, Wisconsin, intending to fish the yellow sally stonefly hatch . and finds a body instead.Who killed Jake Jacobs, fellow fly fisher and late-coming agitator who was trying to save Black Earth Creek? Why was Jacobs disfigured in such a peculiar way? Why does the Dog give a damn? Can he rekindle his faith and interest in humankind? By caring about the death of a stranger, can the Dog recover his own life? Can he untie The Nail Knot?.