Late one spring afternoon, Alejandro "Sandy" Stem, the
leading defense attorney in the midsized Midwestern city
where he lives, comes 'home from a business trip to find
that Clara, his wife of thirty years, has committed
suicide. Readers of Presumed Innocent will remember Stem
as the brilliant, elegant, and elusive lawyer who
masterminded the defense of Rusty Sabich. Scott Turow's
new novel probes the character of this fascinating and
complex man and his troubled private world.
Like many successful individuals, Stern has often seemed
preoccupied and remote even to those closest to him. He is
overwhelmed by Clara's death, and as he tries to come to
terms with it, he is forced to confront all he truly does
not know about his life, including his children. Even in
his mourning, Stern is drawn back to the law as the
defender of Dixon Hartnell, who is the target of an
increasingly complex investigation by a federal grand
jury. Stem's connections to Dixon, the immensely rich
owner of a commodities futures brokerage and a wily
financial gamesman, are long and involved. Dixon, who both
fascinates and repels Stern, is the husband of Stem's
beloved sister, Silvia, and he has employed Stem to keep
him one step ahead of the law for decades.
As Sandy seeks to unravel both the painful mystery of
Clara's death and the tangled web of Dixon's financial
wheeling and dealing, his whole world -- marriage, family,
career -- is brought under the intense scrutiny that only
a lawyer as persistent, perceptive, and honest as Stern
can muster. The result is a novel of enormous emotional
resonance, riveting suspense, and pro- found and
devastating revelations.
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