Detective Sunderson's retirement takes place after his investigation of a hedonistic cult goes nowhere, but he can't get the self-declared Great Leader off his mind. At first the guy seems merely a harmless oddball, but as Sunderson and his unlikely sixteen-year-old sidekick dig deeper they realize him more sinister than they realized. This sets off a pursuit from Michigan to Arizona, and from there on to Nebraska, where the Great Leader's newest recruits gather to glorify his questionable religion.