The second book in the Brace Heller series, Begin Rumble Strip finds private detective Brace Heller returning from another dull gig to find a message from his high school buddy, the now wealthy and flamboyant Tracy Vang. Vang's son has been charged with murder, and Vang asks Heller to journey to the Hawaiian island of Kauai to prove the boy's innocence. Heller is happy to help an old friend, but soon finds himself in the middle of a complex and violent mystery that is about something much bigger than he ever imagined.