Federal Public Defender Frank McGarrity thinks his indigent and trouble-prone client is probably guilty. After all, the two surviving victims cross-racially identified Thomas Calhoun as the rapist and murderer. After Calhoun is convicted, other crimes on Fort Dix point to another perpetrator. It's up to McGarrity to prove Calhoun innocent, but McGarrity becomes a suspect in one of the other murders. He finally understands how it feels to be wrongly accused of a heinous crime, but it may be too late when he's targeted by the real killer.

Frank McGarrity, a young lawyer in Princeton, takes the case of William, who won't give his last name but carries plenty of cash. William confides he murdered a man but assures him he won't kill again. He doesn't admit that he longs to be the most famous serial killer ever and plans to execute thirteen privileged people who took advantage of his indigent mother or him. McGarrity is torn between legal ethics and moral right. As a lawyer, he must keep any secrets as long as a client doesn't reveal an intent to commit a future crime. After visiting Biscuit Buckingham, a jailed bank robber client...