Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter and his wife, Laurie, enjoy walking their dogs, Tara, a golden retriever, and Sebastian, a basset hound. When out for one of their strolls one summer weekend, their usual routine is interrupted when they spot a man down the street, mistreating his pug. Andy and Laurie hurry over to intervene, but before they can do anything, another passerby gets there first. He beats the dog owner so thoroughly that both are arrested when the cops arrive.

Before the guy gets taken away, he makes Andy and Laurie promise to look after the dog, which is an easy promise to make, since Andy is the founder of a dog rescue organization. At the police station, the passerby is identified as Matthew Jantzen, who turns out to be wanted for murder. Andy is struck by the fact that Jantzen, a man supposedly on the run, would nevertheless intervene to help a dog, and even though Andy is never keen to take on a new case, he can’t say no to someone who is clearly as much of a dog lover as he is.

Dog Eat Dog, the twenty-second installment in the Andy Carpenter series, features the charming cast of characters - old and new - that David Rosenfelt is known for, as well as the dogs that accompany them.