To the Los Angeles elite, Ford Fairlane is known as "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll Detective." This loudmouthed ladies' man serves an exclusive rock star clientele, who depend on his keen eye and smug discretion. So when a heavy-metal musician dies mid-concert, Fairlane is on the case before the lights come up. But things turn shocking when radio personality Johnny Crunch hires Fairlane to find a missing groupie mere hours before he is electrocuted live on air.
Nora Scoonover is 35, divorced, in debt and going nowhere when her 16 year-old son, Steven, runs away from camp and asks to spend the summer with her. Together they decide that she will enter the Ironman Triathlon competition in Hawaii, although she has not done any running since high school. The experience brings them together.