Young U.S. attorney Marshall Jackson is handed the biggest case of his career when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Farrel Douglas is gunned down during his commencement speech at a Detroit law school. Conservative Justice Douglas had more than a few enemies in the city's African-American community, and no one is surprised when radical activist Daishaya Mbutu is quickly charged with the crime. But when contradictory evidence turns up and forensics shows there might be more to this murder than meets the eye, Marshall is forced to take the investigation into his own hands. With the help of his childhood-friend-turned-cop Danny Cavanaugh, Marshall takes a closer look at the case. It isn't long before he's made a slew of enemies of his own in the African-American community—and, Marshall fears, in the federal government. As Marshall's safety and the lives of those around him become increasingly at risk, he makes a shocking discovery. The one person who can name Justice Douglas's killer is his own twin brother, Moses, a hardened criminal to whom Marshall hasn't spoken in years. Now this by-the-book prosecutor must ask his street-smart brother for help, putting aside the bitter blood feud that has raged between them since childhood. For justice, for a country on the verge of racial division, and for his own life, Marshall follows a twisted trail of guilt straight up the political ranks to a dangerous—and unexpected—source.
