When ex-lawman and senior citizen, Rip Ripple, is assaulted by a strung-out young man at a rest area outside Rockdale, Missouri, he assures his wife, Rapella, it's "no big rip." Aboard their travel-trailer, the "Chartreuse Caboose," the couple is destined to see their friends Lexie Starr and Stone Van Patten at their bed and breakfast, The Alexandria Inn.
Pressed by Rapella to report the crime, Rip meets with Det. Wyatt Johnson, who dutifully documents the details with a promise to investigate.
When the attacker turns out to be the son of Lexie's recently deceased neighbor, Lillian Sparrow, the two amateur sleuths are compelled to investigate the truth behind her death. Before long, Rapella and Lexie find themselves in a life-or-death situation.
