Undaunted by his lack of college degree, John sets out from his meager New York apartment on a journey to Tennessee where he hopes to track down the secret papers of 17th President Andrew Johnson--documents that may or may not actually exist. On his way, he is sidetracked in the tiny, rural burg of Pantherville, Tennessee. There, he meets a quirky group of locals who inadvertently serve to obstruct him from his more scholarly pursuits.