Murder. Courtroom suspense. Unforgettable characters. A California town drenched in fog and secrecy. Barry Siegel delivers one of the most original and exciting legal thrillers in years. They used to be partners: Greg Monarch and Ira Sullivan, a couple of do-good lawyers in the central California town of La Graciosa. Ira, the charmer who glided through life. Greg, ever the searching idealist. But it all went bad for Ira. Bad enough that he wakes up in jail one day staring at a death sentence for murder. And he can't remember if hes the killer. Only Greg Monarch has a prayer of getting him off--if he's willing to cross certain ethical lines. Just how far should he go to save his former partner? As Greg Monarch wrestles with that question, he finds himself inexorably drawn into an ever-widening web of deceit and intrigue. The stakes are much higher then he first imagined; the forces gathering against Ira reach well beyond their coastal hamlet. Layer by layer, Greg peels back a tissue of lies--and at the rotten core he comes to Sandy Polson. A self-possessed beauty with a shady past, Sandy is the kind of woman who can look you deep in the eyes and make you believe anything. Sandy says she was with Ira the night of the murder, says she saw the whole thing. The prosecution believes shes the perfect witness. But what if Monarch could persuade Sandy to tell the truth? Wouldnt Sandy then become the perfect witness for the defense? A spellbinding story of crime and punishment, betrayal and revenge, Barry Siegel's new novel is a compelling journey into the heart of the courtroom and the human soul.

Barry Siegel is the author of two previous books: Shades of Gray: Ordinary People in Extraordinary Circumstances and A Death in White Bear Lake, which was nominated for an Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category. He is an award-winning reporter for the Los Angeles Times.