It was a one-way ticket out of his self-imposed isolation and into the courtroom on the right side of justice. It was a favor for his old friend Judge Horace Woolner. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to serve as special prosecutor in a case against a man sworn to uphold the law, Marshall Goodwin, the chief deputy district attorney accused of having his former wife murdered. It was an opportunity Joseph Antonelli couldn't walk away from.

But Antonelli is walking into more than he bargained for. The Goodwin case renews his appetite for the practice of law, and although Antonelli is determined to remain on the side of justice, there are many shades between right and wrong. And Antonelli may be over his head when Russell Gray, an urbane, worldly, and wealthy man from a prominent Portland family, is found murdered in his living room. Horace Woolner's wife stands accused of the crime. With justice and love on the line, the stakes couldn't be higher. In this stunning look at our legal system and our hearts, D. W. Buffa delivers on the promise of The Defense and takes us into the dark recesses of our courtrooms and our souls, where there are no easy answers.