Santa Monica Private Investigator Cleveland Cartridge is approached by heiress Calliope San Vicente, who wishes to engage him to discover who is behind her daughter's death. She offers a lot of money to extract revenge. Cartridge informs her that revenge is not among his services, but agrees to get to the bottom of the matter. C-man hires two female middle-distance runners, Espanola Cather and Olivia Pillsbury, both track speedsters who can run under 2:00 for 800 meters. The three P. I.'s find themselves immersed in a dual threat involving performance-enhancing drugs, those for track and field athletes, and others for men only. Atlanta, Boulder, Santa Fe, San Juan and El Yunque, Puerto Rico are destinations encountered during their dilemma.