But when extremists outside Clanton - including the KKK - hear that a black man has killed two white men, they invade the town, determined to destroy anything and anyone that opposes their sense of justice.

A national media circus descends on Clanton. As tensions mount, Hailey hires the inexperienced Jake Brigance to defend him. It's the kind of case that could make a young lawyer's career.

But it's also the kind of case that could get a young lawyer killed. The original, epoch-defining Jake Brigance novel. Brigance returns in SYCAMORE ROW and A TIME FOR MERCY.