Avery Keene, a brilliant young law clerk for the legendary Justice Howard Wynn, is doing her best to hold her life together. When the shocking news breaks that Justice Wynn, the cantankerous swing vote on many current high-profile cases, has slipped into a coma, Avery's life turns upside down. She is immediately notified that Justice Wynn has left instructions for her to serve as his legal guardian and power of attorney. Plunged into an explosive role she never anticipated, Avery finds that Justice Wynn had been secretly researching one of the most controversial cases before the court, a proposed merger between an American biotech company and an Indian genetics firm, which promises to unleash breathtaking results in the medical field. She also discovers that Wynn suspected a dangerously related conspiracy that infiltrates the highest power corridors of Washington.