Under the Padre's Thumb begins when acclaimed sculptor Centario Cienfuegos uses a popular Internet site to auction off the 90-foot-long hollow arm from an aborted colossus statue of early California missionary Junipero Serra. Whacked out survivalist and cafe owner Buster Charmfoot buys the arm for his restaurant and installs in on a picturesque cliff overlooking a backwater California resort lake. This triggers a war over public art between the county officials, local bikers, eco-activists, and the Hunu-dano Pomo Native American Tribe, who are building a casino in the sculpture's shadow. Global media jackals descend on the town and stir the story as the crisis foments local chaos and class wars. Finally, the tense situation becomes a national concern and stumbling lawmakers bypass the political solution, leading to an elevated confrontation between an unarmed protestor and a squad of U.S. Navy SEALs.