Once a petty criminal, now a highly respected QC, Elliot Rook has years of legal experience — and he will need every one of them if he is to see his latest client acquitted.

A batch of tainted drugs has killed thirteen inmates at a London prison and a vulnerable young officer, Charli Meadows, has been charged with smuggling them into the prison. Charli insists she is innocent but as Rook begins to investigate the charges that first saw the prisoners incarcerated, a threatening note arrives at Rook's flat, warning him off the case.

As Rook battles to save Charli and protect himself, his young protege, Zara, is under pressure. Only one tenancy at the legal chambers will be available to the ever-multiplying mass of pupils, and determined that it will be hers, Zara has taken on her biggest solo case yet. But will her gamble pay off?