When the body of nine-year-old Thuy Sen is found in the San Francisco Bay, the police quickly charge brothers Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A twelve-person jury, abetted by an incompetent defense lawyer, is nearly as quick to find the men guilty-and to sentence them both to die for their crimes. Fifteen years later, overworked pro-bono lawyer Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband, Chris, and her stepson, Carlo, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, become convinced not only that Rennell didn't receive a fair trial but that he may well be innocent. Facing enormous legal obstacles, Teresa, Chris, and Carlo desperately try to stay Rennell's execution, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court and the novel to a moving and powerful conclusion.
