After working to free his father from prison, Leo has left private practice and is working as a public defender. He and his co-counsel Jordan Walker are in the midst of a trial, defending Randall Rodriguez, a mentally ill homeless man whom they contend falsely confessed to the rape of a young San Francisco socialite. After their client is acquitted, Leo and Jordan fall into an intense relationship—until Jordan is found brutally raped and murdered in her apartment. Leo, the last person known to have seen her alive, is the natural suspect, and the police are eager for payback after the Rodriguez case. The story takes a turn when Leo and Jordan's freshly acquitted client goes to the police station and offers to confess to Jordan's murder. Upset by the rapidity with which the police accept this confession, Jordan's father asks Leo to investigate his daughter's death. Leo agrees, knowing exonerating Rodriguez will bring suspicion back on himself.

Theorizing that he may be on the trail of a serial rapist and murderer, Leo instead uncovers a massive judicial fraud leading to the federal courthouse. Leo will come face to face with an adversary more powerful than any foe he has met so far.