Hammer of Justice

When ex-priest and once successful DC trial lawyer, Jack Riley, returns to Apalachicola, Florida, he doesn't expect to be kidnapped by a drug dealer or jailed for representing a girl who was fired for refusing to abort her bi-racial baby.

It's 1987. The federal Civil Rights Act is 23 years old, but local blacks still sit in the balcony of Apalachicola's Dixie heater. Jack Riley is a recovering alcoholic--or a recovering lawyer. Maybe both. He wants a quiet law practice handling no-stress cases, but six hours after he arrives, he is kidnapped by a black drug dealer.

Despite this inhospitable welcome, Riley opens an office three blocks from the courthouse and two blocks from a bar. When Laura Kincaid comes to him for help, he abandons his quest for serenity. Laura is pregnant, the baby's father is black, and she's been fired for refusing to have an abortion. During the ensuing

two-week trial, Riley faces a hostile judge, stolen evidence, missing witnesses, and murder in order to achieve justice for his client.