San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka is surprised when California governor Chuck Dusenbury offers eleventh-hour clemency to Sedaka's client Clayton Burrow - currently on Death Row - on the condition that Burrow reveals where he buried the body of the victim. But he is even more surprised when Burrow turns down the offer, insisting that he was framed by the missing girl herself. Until then, Sedaka – who only recently took over the case – thought that Burrow was guilty. But now he is not so sure.

Thus begins a race against time to unravel the mystery, with the unlikely cooperation of the mother of the missing girl, who persuaded the governor to make the clemency offer in the first place. Aided by his secretary, legal intern and computer expert son, Alex finds evidence of school bullying, marital infidelity and even child abuse. But with the clock ticking down to Burrow’s execution, Alex is frustrated at every turn by elusive evidence that casts doubt on Burrow’s guilt, but is not enough to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the courts at this late stage.

As the execution looms ahead, the race turns frantic… and dangerous. Combining elements of Harlan Coben, John Grisham, Dan Brown and Prison Break, MERCY, this is the first in a series featuring US lawyer Alex Sedaka.