The Fire This Time

To obtain an acquittal for a client charged with a heinous murder, Maddie Devlin, a public defender, must produce the killer.

Boston, MA, April, 1981. Tensions between its religious, racial, and ethnic communities are high because of court-ordered school busing. The mayor’s son is murdered. At the crime scene is the skull cap of a rabbinic student. After his arrest, anti-Semitism explodes.

Devlin thinks the killer is the leader of Boston’s most notorious street gang. She has no evidence. The D.A. and police won’t investigate. To seek evidence, she must enter the gang’s turf without knowing whether she will live to present whatever evidence she finds. Never has defending a client zealously been so dangerous.

Every criminal defense attorney wants justice for his or her client especially if that client did not commit the heinous crime for which he will stand trial. Maddie Devlin, a public defender, is no different. To obtain justice for her client, she must overcome the ‘Perry Mason Curse.’ Poking holes in the prosecution’s case will not result in an acquittal. Only producing the killer will. To do this, she must put her life on the line without knowing if her gambit will succeed. Even if she survives, she may not be able to produce the killer. This is the dilemma Devlin confronts in defending her client.