This is the story of Percy Diligence - a fearful romantic, a prolific drinker, and purposeful dabbler - and his struggle to complete the final masterwork of his late aunt, the renowned artist Josie Dunn. Water, art, death, and puzzle pieces guide this journey that sends Percy down the red-clay trail of the Grand Canyon with his mysterious beloved Nelly Blue; down to the banks of the mighty Colorado River and then all they way back to the wheezing metropolis of Los Angeles. Along the way he discovers not only sublime disappointment and bitter betrayal at the hands of his best friends, but also the gift of redemption and the final pieces to a lifelong puzzle.