In rural New Zealand in 1949, Wes Pennington (Peter Bland) and his partner Cyril (Philip Gordon) are out to run a horse-racing scam for as long as they can.

They are inveterate gamblers who have joined forces to trick local bookies, by taking advantage of delayed broadcasts of horse races.

After arriving in small town Tainuia Junction, Wes and Cyril get involved in a bootlegging ring, arson and murder.

Among a group of local eccentrics, they also meet the Tainuia Kid (Billy T. James), a Maori who believes himself to be a Mexican bandito.

One writer argued that the book makes "good-natured, nostalgic fun of small town 1940s New Zealand where Friday night’s excitement is a pie and chips at the boozer" with "larger than life parodic characters".