When ruthless land developers arrange to have Tush Bannon killed, they know he has a wife and three kids, but they don't know that he has a friend named Travis McGee.
Travis McGee is a Florida boat bum who finances his extended vacations by trying to get back money that has been conned or stolen from people who can’t use legal means to try and recover it. His old buddy ‘Tush’ (1968 Winner For Worst Nickname Ever) Bannon owns a small marina and hotel, but his land stands in the way of some crooked developers, and they’re using their influence with local politicians to squeeze him out. Tush refuses to sell and turns up dead on what is ruled a very messy suicide. An angry McGee decides to get revenge by swindling the developers with a complicated stock scheme, and this will also allow him to get a nest egg for Tush’s family in the process.