John Grisham's ninth legal thriller opens with a bang, literally, when a grizzled and fragrant homeless man wanders into a Washington, D. C., law firm, takes nine attorneys hostage at gunpoint, and appropriates a vacant conference room to lecture on the importance of charitable contributions.

In the aftermath of the morning's unscheduled discussions, the 800-lawyer firm of Drake & Sweeney survives, but their uninvited guest does not. Michael Brock, one of the firm's rising young stars, comes away from his brush with death with a troubled conscience and a mental legal pad filled with unanswered questions. Who was this man, and what did he really want?

Michael decides to do some digging, and learns that his captor was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. But then he digs a little deeper and finds a dirty secret, a secret that involves Drake & Sweeney.

Disillusioned by his discoveries, Michael abruptly abandons the fast track and quits the firm, taking a top-secret file with him. He lands on the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer...and a thief.