The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, along with his FBI pal Harry, make Rushmore McKenzie an offer he can’t refuse—no matter how hard he tries: take on the identity of a wanted fugitive, escape to the upper reaches of Minnesota, and infiltrate a crew of armed robbers known as “The Iron Range Bandits.” His mission: help retrieve a cache of stolen weapons before they’re used to wreak havoc on the Canadian–US border.

But there are a few catches. First, the bandits aren’t the hardcore criminals they seem to be, although the bent sheriff deputies chasing them certainly are. Then there is the stripper and her nefarious manager, the ex-soldier trying to prove he’s a man, the minor-league crime czar who uses blackmail to force McKenzie to rob a highly guarded bank vault, and an enigmatic thug who finds love in all the wrong places. Not to mention the gunrunners who pride themselves on shooting first and asking questions later.

And if that’s not enough to make him wonder why he didn’t stay home with his lady love Nina Truhler, McKenzie soon learns that the promises of an ambitious assistant US attorney to the contrary, he is absolutely on his own.