In view of five males and three females in four separate vehicles, a driver, speeding down a winding downhill section of a California desert highway, careens off the road, crashes and is thrown from his vehicle. The five male witnesses rush off to the injured driver, their attention shifting away from his well-being when, just before passing, he gasps out that he has buried $350,000 in Santa Rosita State Park underneath a big W. When questioned by the attending police and asked directly if the victim said anything to them before he died, they all lie. In the eight ultimately discussing the issue among themselves and unable to come up with a way to divide the money that is acceptable to all if they work together to try to find it--by the five who attended, by all eight, by vehicle, by family unit, or a combination of any or all of the above--it becomes every person for him/herself as they all rush to Santa Rosita State Park generally by vehicle unit to locate the big W and the money. That race isn't as easy as any of the eight would like as it becomes a proverbial planes, trains, and automobiles trek as they all get into one misadventure after another. In the process, they sometimes need to confide in others in order for assistance, thus spreading the money beyond more than just the eight of them. What they don't know is that the victim is Smiler Grogan, who stole the money 15 years ago. What they also don't know is that the Santa Rosita police, led by Captain Culpeper, had been following Grogan in order to discover where he hid the money. Culpeper, honest to a fault, knows that the eight were told where the money is, so all they need to do is clandestinely follow the eight to the money; discovering it would be the feather in his cap at the end of an illustrious career. But feeling unappreciated as viewed by the measly pension he will receive following retirement, Culpeper could have other thoughts about the best way to end his career.