Patrick Murphy, an ambitious trial attorney, has positioned himself for a meteoric rise to the top of his profession. Fast cars, beautiful women, and the garish nightlife of the Big Easy are the backdrops for his lifestyle. Constant conflict with his father, the ex-Deputy Chief of Police, has driven him to both heights of success and depths of depression. Suddenly he finds himself entrapped in a compromising situation that threatens to shatter his fragile relationships with his fiance and father, and to destroy his aspirations. Using the analytical skills he has honed in the courtroom, he hatches a scheme of murder and deceit that will free him from blackmail by an ebony seductress and incriminate a young intern from his law firm.John Roth, a senior detective with the N.O.P.D. looks forward to his imminent retirement with apprehension. Reflecting on his past and its successes and failures, he attempts to solve the final cases of his career. A young black man is accused of murdering his father. A young black woman is murdered with few clues or suspects. Both cases draw Roth to Patrick Murphy, his godson and the son of his former partner. With the patience and diligence developed during forty years of service to the citizens of New Orleans, Roth pieces together the shadows of evidence and exposes the truth.