Blacksad is in New Orleans, looking for work. He just so happens to come across a rich Texan who asks him to drive his car back down to his hometown. Perfect! An easy job and good money, not to mention the beautiful car! So the detective accepts. But, much to his dismay, the car is stolen from him in a gas station by Chad Lowell and Abe Greenberg, two beatnik writers wanting to get to Amarillo, Texas. Things soon get messy when Chad shoots at Abe during a quarrel, killing him dead. Forced into exile, Chad finds refuge in a circus. But Blacksad is hot on his trail along those endless highways of southern America.