[2] A homeless man, identifying himself only as "Mister," enters the offices of the powerful Washington D.C. law firm Drake & Sweeney and takes many of the lawyers hostage while angrily demanding information about some kind of eviction that took place.

The firm makes a deal where Brock has his license temporarily suspended, while they settle for a large amount of money and fire the partner whose actions led to the young family's deaths.

Drake & Sweeney's head partner, deeply troubled by the events, offers to make his entire staff available for pro bono work to assist the clinic in fighting for the rights of homeless people.

[4] Mat Coward wrote in his review in The Independent that the novel is "fluent and fascinating" and mentioned "Few writers have so much to say, the skills to make reading what they say an irresistible pleasure - and the clout to be able to be able to say it to an audience of millions".

[5] Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times gave the novel a negative review, stating "Grisham is too busy charging ahead to bother fleshing out any of these developments" and describing the novel as "a brand-name novel with an unlikable hero, a slapdash plot and some truly awful prose.