One week before Jake Rutledge is scheduled to graduate from law school, he receives the devastating news of the death of his fraternal twin, Blake. What makes this death even more terrible for Jake is that his brother died of a drug overdose. Until hearing of his death, Jake had no idea his brother was even using drugs.
When Jake returns home to Oakley, West Virginia, he takes a hard look at the circumstances of his brother's death. In the five years Jake has been away for his schooling, his hometown has drastically changed. Because of the opioid epidemic, and the blight it has brought, many now call Oakley "Zombieland." Jake can see how his town's demise parallels his brother's.
Undeterred, the newly minted lawyer takes on the entrenched powers by filing two lawsuits. Jake quickly learns what happens when you upset a hornet's nest. The young attorney might be wet behind the ears, but is sure there is no lawyer that could help him more than Nick "Deke" Deketomis and his law firm of Bergman/Deketomis. Deke is a legendary lawyer. When he was Jake's age he was making his name fighting Big Tobacco. Against all odds, Jake gets Nick and his firm to sign on to his case before it's too late.
Vengence will be theirs!The Bergman-Deketomis Law Firm built their powerhouse legal team fully understanding that their opponents rarely play by the rules, but the gruesome murder of one of their senior partners has placed them on a playing field where there are no rules.They are caught up in a way that has to be won outside of a courtroom. One of America's largest weapons manufacturers has them in its crosshairs, and a negotiated settlement is not an option. Sometimes the pursuit of justice isn't enough. Sometimes the law of vengeance is the only path.
Brash, brilliant, handsome Nicholas Deketomis has built a highly successful career as a lawyer protecting the rights of the innocent while winning multibillion-dollar lawsuits from the powers that be. "Deke" may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, but he's built a wonderful life for his close-knit family. His wife and two children live in a beautiful house in a seaside community along the Florida Panhandle.
But their comfortable life is endangered. In the midst of a highly contentious lawsuit against a powerful pharmaceutical company, as well as publicly advocating for a liberal Florida State Senate candidate, this time Deke may have riled the wrong powerbrokers. Scheming against him are a local Bible-thumping preacher, an ambitious district attorney, and two malicious brothers running one of the country's biggest oil corporations. A vile conspiracy is hatched to bring down Deketomis; setting him up and attempting to convict him on a bogus murder charge would solve many of their problems.
Deke is in the trial of his life, which quickly becomes a media circus. But this good man will not go down without a bruising fight-especially when he finds his family threatened. And just as it seems that his enemies may have him cornered, he finds help from the unlikeliest source.
