When JP Kinkaid is asked by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominating
committee to suggest an inductee under the "Early Influences"
category, he has no hesitation in naming his childhood idol, delta
bluesman Farris “Bulldog” Moody. Bulldog, alive and living
in the southern Ohio town of Ofagoula, meets with JP - and the two
form a deep and immediate bond. With the help of music historian and
fellow heart patient Chester Kobel, JP prepares the speech that will
officially enshrine Bulldog in the Hall of Fame.
But when Ches dies during his morning jog outside the Hall in Cleveland,
JP begins to realise that something is very wrong. That impression
is confirmed by Bree's mother, surgeon Miranda Godwin; she knew Ches,
knew his medical history, and believes that there is no reason for
Ches to have died.
A possible reason surfaces almost at once: Ches has made some cryptic notes about a biography of Bulldog, and the notes he's left don't match the story Bulldog himself insists are the truth. And JP must swallow his dislike of Patrick Ormand, and ask him to find the truth, not only of Bulldog's own life, but of Ches Kobel's death.