With $50 million at stake, two competing and artfully deceptive private investigators with a troubled past must deny their growing mutual attraction to hunt for the legitimate heir of a billion-dollar estate. Then they must outfox each other as they hoodwink/bamboozle the heir across the country under the noses of rival investigators, a nosy reporter and court officials to stand before a judge, with no one becoming the wiser, especially the heir.

SYNOPSIS:

Homeless Chuck Whelan encourages private Investigator Frank (Mac) McVey to take on a probate case. A rich industrialist died, leaving no apparent heir. If you find and bring an heir into the court, you will get a piece of the estate—in this case $50 million! Among the other P.I.’s joining the search are Jerry Langley (who just mooches off others’ legwork) and the beautiful Janice Stratton, with whom Mac has a past. Overseeing it all, is crooked attorney Don Parker, who is determined to be the court-appointed Receiver to siphon off a major portion of the inheritance for himself.

Missing heirs is outside of Mac’s usual casework, but he takes it on. He seems to have friends everywhere and they all owe him favors. Mac visits the cemetery and spots a particular rose design on the mausoleum. He searches the internet for its origin. Meanwhile, Janice’s strength is her craftiness. She pores over yet another old dusty financial ledger she connived out of the industrialist’s company files. Both Mac and Janice come to the same conclusion—the key is an adoption agency in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile, newspaper reporter Wainford follows Mac’s bogus tip to Albuquerque where he triggers the suspicions of local newsman Bob and police chief Ralph. They figure Wainford has tracked the missing heir to Albuquerque. They want to take over his investigation.

Now openly competing, Janice and Mac confront each other at the Austin adoption agency. Old wounds are opened. Mac gets a lead on Ray, a possible heir and tells him about an upcoming family reunion that his birth parents hope he will attend in Los Angeles. Regardless, Janice tricks her way into the plan, undercuts Mac, and instead spins a story about a family member in desperate need of Ray’s bone marrow. Janice used this similar tactic before and the old wound between Mac and Janice is reopened. One problem neither of them foresaw however, is Jerry. He sneakily followed them both to Austin, comes out of nowhere, and tries to wrestle Ray away from them. But Mac successfully fights him off. Mac, Janice and Ray head to Los Angeles.

Over in Albuquerque, Wainford realizes Mac’s tip is a hoax, but he’s nevertheless captive to police chief Ralph’s pipe dreams. In a live news broadcast, Wainford and his cameraman stage a fake burglary that they “interrupt,” dumping the credit on police chief Ralph in order to escape his clutches.

Back in Los Angeles, Jerry intercepts and briefly spirits Ray away from Mac and Janice. Poor Ray still has no idea why he’s so frenziedly wanted in Los Angeles. Jerry’s no help. He tells Ray he’s won free dinners for life at a restaurant chain. Anyway, Mac gets Ray back but they still have to make their way to the courthouse. Janice comes through this time, calling on a friend of hers with his charter helicopter business. He flies them all downtown, landing on a nearby office building… where the building’s security guard recognizes Ray from news reports and figures to take Ray in for himself. Making up for her earlier indiscretion with Mac, Janice sacrifices herself, getting the drop on the guard. Mac races off with Ray.

But they’re still a block from the courthouse. He and Ray make it to the street with Ray where even everyday folk begin to recognize Ray. (Wainford is really pissed at Mac. He’s plastered Ray’s face all over.) Mac elicits the help of a monster truck driver to blaze a trail through a street improvement project. It’s jarring, but they wind up on the steps of the courthouse where crooked attorney Parker confronts them. But Mac knows Parker’s past and entraps Parker. Victorious, Mac escorts Ray into the building.

In the courtroom sometime later, the judge formally recognizes that Ray is the heir to the fortune. The formerly homeless Chuck Whelan is now cleaned up and well-dressed. He is the former Chief Financial Officer of a large corporation that attorney Parker had done in. He now presents a clear and well-thought-out plan for Ray’s huge inherited corporation. The judge approves the plan and appoints Whelan the Receiver of the corporation. Having brought in an heir, the judge awards Mac and Janet their portion. Smiling at each other, Mac and Janet plan to get together later and plan how to spend it.