The novel was published again in 2003 to coincide with the release of Runaway Jury, a movie adaptation of the novel starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz.

Wendall Rohr and his team of tort lawyers have filed suit on behalf of plaintiff Celeste Wood, whose husband died of lung cancer, against the tobacco company Pynex.

The trial is to be held in Biloxi, Mississippi, a state thought to have favorable tort laws and sympathetic juries.

Rankin Fitch, a shady "consultant" who has directed eight successful trials for the tobacco industry, has placed a camera in the courtroom in order to observe the proceedings in his office nearby, where he and his team analyze the jury and plan to manipulate them.

Meanwhile, Easter works from the inside to gain control of the jury – being warm-hearted, sympathetic and helpful to jurors who might be won over, and rather ruthless to those who prove impervious to his efforts.

This turns out to be extremely difficult, and the detectives employed by Fitch express their grudging respect for her skill in hiding her tracks.

As the trial reaches its climax, Fitch – still in the dark about Marlee's past – agrees to her proposal to pay $10 million for a favorable verdict.

Only after the money is irrevocably transferred to an offshore account do the detectives discover the truth: Marlee is in fact an anti-smoking activist whose parents both died from tobacco use.

While not able to sway the entire jury, Easter gets nine out of twelve jurors to back him – sufficient for a valid verdict in a civil case.

In the Cayman Islands, Marlee short-sells the tobacco companies' stocks and makes an enormous gain on the original $10 million.

While Easter and Marlee are now wealthy and satisfied that they served justice, the tobacco industry, once undefeatable, is now vulnerable to an avalanche of additional lawsuits.

Frederick Harkin: The judge in the case Wood v. Pynex Loreen Duke: Black female juror.

The New York Times wrote: "The story's suspense builds like that of a lengthening cigarette ash that refuses to drop off.

"[3] The Chicago Tribune wrote that "the guts of the book is the cat-and-mouse game played by Marlee, Easter and Fitch, and it is probably Grisham's best storytelling to date.