During prep sessions in the office, Wally Pratt appeared to be the perfect expert witness. But as soon as he took the witness stand, instead of telling the jury about a shipment of gold coins that had gone missing during the Civil War, he began talking about space aliens and mind control.

Brendan O’Brian travels to the little town of Clerksburg to assist a fellow attorney who is representing professional treasure hunters suing the federal government. When the attorney mysteriously disappears, O’Brian’s one-day court appearance turns into an extended stay.

O’Brian quickly discovers that Clerksburg is anything but an ordinary town. The bank manager attempts to rob his own bank.

The minister’s wife does a public striptease. The local judge has a penchant for handing out ten dollar fines.

And the mysterious Merchants Association seems to have more power than elected officials. But perhaps the strangest thing about Clerksburg is its relationship with the military base in the national forest north of town.

And that turns out to be a key factor in the treasure hunters’ case against the government. .