For seventeen years, small-town public defender Andy Hughes has been underpaid to look after the poor, the addicted, and the unfortunate souls who constantly cycle through the courts, charged with petty crimes. Then, in the summer of 2020, he's assigned to a grotesque murder case that brings national media focus to rural Patrick County, Virginia--Alicia Benson, the wife of a wealthy businessman, is murdered in her home. The accused killer, Damian Bullins, is a cunning felon with a long history of violence, and he confesses to the police. He even admits his guilt to Andy. But a simple typographical error and a shocking discovery begin to complicate the state's case, making it possible Bullins might escape punishment. Duty-bound to give his client a thorough defense, Andy--despite his misgivings--agrees to fight for a not-guilty verdict, a decision that will ultimately force him to make profound, life-and-death choices, both inside and outside the courtroom.

Entertainment Weekly called Martin Clark "hands down, our finest legal-thriller writer." The New York Times stated that he is "the thinking man's John Grisham."  The Winston-Salem Journal declared that he has set "the new standard by which other works of legal fiction should be judged," and David Baldacci praised him as "a truly original writer."  A retired circuit court judge from Patrick County, Virginia, Martin is a cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and attended law school at the University of Virginia.  When he was appointed to the bench in 1992 at age thirty-two, he became one of the youngest judges in the history of the commonwealth. His novels have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, and the audio version of The Substitution Order was a number one national bestseller.  Additionally, his novels have been chosen as a New York Times Notable Book, a New York Times Editors' Choice, a Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year, a Bookmarks Magazine Best Book of the Year, a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, a finalist for the Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and the winner of the Library of Virginia's People's Choice Award in 2009, 2016 and 2020.  Martin received the Patrick County Outstanding Community Service Award in 2016 and the Virginia State Bar's Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Award in 2018.   He and his wife, Deana, live on a farm with dogs, cats, chickens and three donkeys.