San Francisco attorney Kali O'Brien knows that in the legal system reality can be shaded, but she doesn't like clients who lie to her. That's what she has in Grady Barrett, a wealthy computer magnate married to Kali's best friend, who is arraigned in the rape of Deirdre Nicholas. Grady's claim that the sex was consensual doesn't excuse the hurt he's caused his wife and his reputation, and puts Kali in a bind because she doesn't believe him. Then Deirdre plunges to her death from a second-story balcony. A tragic accident? Or cold-blooded murder? Now, bound to a client she can't trust, Kali finds herself straddling a fine line.