Banished to the family detective agency's Midwest branch while oily Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones) runs the company, bumbling gumshoe Harry Crumb (John Candy) gets called in on a kidnapping involving a rich client's daughter. Little does he know that Draisen hatched the abduction to net millions and abscond with the client's moneygrubbing spouse (Annie Potts). With the inept Harry on the job, how can Draisen's plan fail?