When Malcolm Hill, a black eighteen-year-old voting rights worker, is arrested for murder, white congressman Chase Brevard of Massachusetts finds his life transformed in a single moment by the appearance of Malcolm's photo on the news, enveloping him, Malcolm, and Malcolm's mother in a media firestorm that threatens their lives.

For seventeen years, small-town public defender Andy Hughes has been underpaid to look after the poor, the addicted, and the unfortunate souls who constantly cycle through the courts, charged with petty crimes. Then, in the summer of 2020, he's assigned to a grotesque murder case that brings national media focus to rural Patrick County, Virginia--Alicia Benson, the wife of a wealthy businessman, is murdered in her home. The accused killer, Damian...

"Andy Carpenter is at the Tara Foundation's annual Christmas party. But before the stockings can be hung by the chimney with care, homicide detectives ruin the evening. Derek Moore, one of the foundation's best foster volunteers, is arrested for murder. Andy discovers Derek--whose real name is Bobby--is in the witness protection program after giving evidence against his former gang. The police believe Bobby murdered a member. But Bobby swears to Andy...