George isn't certain how he became a dung beetle-or scarab, as he prefers to be called. All he knows is that after he was murdered, this is his new incarnation.

And since dung beetles don't have opposable thumbs, he enlists the help of Judy, a travel writer working on a piece in Africa, to help him track his killer. Her luggage tag address says she is from Cleveland, his hometown, so he grabs the opportunity to go home and fix things. Soon, George and Judy figure out a way to communicate and she agrees to help him find his murderer.

But this is no simple homicide. When George was alive as a man, he worked for a detective agency. What had he uncovered that would cause someone to kill him? And will Judy and her friends have the same fate?