In tough times, crime is one of the few things that still pays, but even criminals are having to make cut-backs. So, for defence lawyer Mickey Haller, most of his new business is not about keeping people out of jail; it’s about keeping a roof over their heads as the foreclosure business is booming.

Lisa Tremmel has been a client of Mickey’s for eight months, and so far he’s stopped the bank from taking her house. But now the bank’s CEO has been found beaten to death - and Lisa is about to be indicted for murder.