The story unfolds in a mix of present time and also flashes of the past. Most of the writing is done through the eyes of the lead counsel, Victor Carl. Several of the flashbacks happen through various supporting cast members.

Most of the time, when reading a book, I'll feel a pull towards one or two characters. I didn't have that this time; Victor is not a sweet, virginal lead character, so I can't find myself rooting for him. I can't feel sorry for his client, Guy Forrest, as it seems that we meet him in the lowest portion of his life.

Victor's law partner, Beth, is a breath of fresh air; not scheming for anything, but her part is small, though necessary, so she doesn't lift the book much. Looking back, I find myself most strongly rooting for the seedy, yet admirable investigator Phil Skink.

This doesn't have a great many surprises in it, nothing that will make you sit up and gasp, but it still was a very solid read, I think.

From the back of the book:
"Ethically adventurous Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl usually does the right thing, but often for the wrong reasons. When old law school classmate Guy Forrest is accused of murdering his beautiful lover, Hailey Prouix, in the Main Line love nest, Carl agrees to represent him - while keeping silent about his own prior romantic involvement with the victim, and his present determination to see that his client is punished for the brutal crime. But once Carl sets the machinery of retribution in motion, it may be impossible to stop it, even after his certainty begins to crack. Now Victor Carl must race across the country to uncover shocking truths: Who, really, was Hailey Prouix? And why is a killer still waiting in her shadow?"