Louisiana State Police Detective Cooter Holland has worn out his welcome with the New Orleans Police Department in almost record time. NOPD's Chief of Detectives cannot fire him, so he gives him one of the used Cadillacs the department appropriated from a local dealership during Hurricane Katrina and sends him looking for a murder suspect the District Attorney released by accident. Holland becomes reluctant to find his quarry until he solves the crime the man is suspected of committing, and what he finds is far more complicated than what initially appeared to be a self-defense shooting. It sets the tone for the series to follow, and establishes the hidden value of having someone more interested in justice than enforcing the law to the Chief of Detectives.