There’s not much laughter at the New Year celebrations in Washington this year - six weeks after John Kennedy’s murder nobody feels like letting their hair down. That much is true of Harry Jensen, a White House analyst who has seen his political dreams go up in smoke.

When ex-prosecutor Michael Ryan’s estranged daughter-in-law is accused of killing his equally estranged son, she wants him to defend her.  At first it seems outrageous, but as he learns more Ryan sees that it’s a request he can’t refuse.

A faithful servant of the CIA has been forced to abandon the most brilliant stroke of his career and, refusing to obey orders, continues with his mission to protect both the important Russian he has turned into an agent for the US, and his colleagues.

For Manhattan ADA Joe Estrada, retrying community hero Roberto Morales for the brutal murder of his colleague and lover looks like a prosecutor’s dream come true.  Soon enough, though, it’s beginning to seem more like a nightmare...   Missing witnesses, a smart, tough defense lawyer, pressure from his bosses, and a hostile press and public… and then Estrada begins to believe that Morales may actually be innocent.

Grand jurors Susan Linwood and David Clark have no idea what they’re getting into when they decide to help two defendants indicted by their grand jury.  What they think is a frameup involving Chinatown rivals turns out to have far wider implications, and to be far more sinister – and deadly.