The Real Howard Spitz plot
Howard Spitz (Grammer) is a hard-boiled detective novelist who doesn't realize that the days of Mickey Spillane and his colleagues are long gone. His agent comes with the sad news that he can no longer find a publisher for his work. Howard's life takes a drastic turn when he finds that children's books not only sell great, but that a little children's book can be done in two hundred words. During his research in the local library, he meets ten-year-old Samantha, who puts him on the right track. She provides the inspiration for his new character Crafty Cow the cow detective, and she also has a beautiful mother. Samantha wants to help Howard with his children's books when he tracks down her father.