An extraordinary new courtroom drama from Sunday Times bestselling thriller author James Patterson and Academy Award winner Viola Davis. Get ready to meet the most unforgettable character in years. All rise?for Judge Stone. The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. Everything changes when she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South. Criminally, it?s open-and-shut. Ethically, there is no middle ground. Essentially, it?s a choice between life and death. No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves.