Noah Baker is a young, smart corporate lawyer with a bright future and a dry sense of humor. His biggest problems in life are negotiating his contentious divorce settlement, competing to make partner at his law firm and fighting boredom at his job. Then one day a strange, disturbing man from Noah's past appears in his office, seeking to hire Noah to bring a lawsuit against the CIA. Noah believes the man is a paranoid schizophrenic, and does his best to distance himself from the man and his delusions. Nevertheless, before long Noah is embroiled in a murder trial and fighting to stay afloat in a sea of troubles, his future threatened by dishonest lawyers, cynical cops, and the cold, hard grinding of the wheels of so-called justice. Without warning, Noah finds himself clinging to his sanity and his freedom---for dear life.