The papers call him the Ice Man. David Nash, defense attorney — cool, unruffled, practically unbeatable in the courtroom. Most of his clients are guilty. A few may be monsters.

Suddenly the Ice Man is assailed by doubts and unanswerable questions. What is the cost of each victory, each rapist or murderer set free — to society and to Nash's soul?

Then comes a case that may be Nash's redemption. A client whose innocence he can believe in, a rising lawyer and family man accused of the brual murder of an undercover vice cop. But as the case moves toward trial, new doubts grip him: What is truth and what is carefully fabricated falsehood? Is Nash, a a master at handling juries, being manipulated himself? And by whom? By the time Nash's perfect case is finished, the questions become a matter of life and death.