A trial consultant in Tucson, Arizona, Calla Gentry devotes her time and energy to victims in civil cases rather than criminal trials. The rape and near murder of her sister, Amaryllis, has done much more than affect Calla's career; she hides behind locked doors and jumps at shadows, a veritable victim by proxy after Amaryllis is left in a coma following a failed suicide attempt. When Calla is assigned against her will to the trial of Raymond Cates, a wealthy landowner's son accused of rape and first degree murder, she cannot help but note the parallels between the crime he stands accused of and her sister's assault. Determined to uncover the truth, Calla begins an investigation of Cates and the events of that fateful night. But things are seldom what they seem--and Calla's investigation leads her to buried lies and a whole new world of violent rage.