Joe Mills is outraged when Judge Deed sentences her client, an 18-year old professional football sensation, to a year in jail for an assault he committed. She subsequently finds herself prosecuting Ali Abdul Moncheri for the murder of a prostitute. There is an witness who saw Moncheri disposing of her body, but the rumor on the street is that the killer was actually his employer, a member of a Gulf State royal family. Deed comes under pressure from the government because of a pending multi-billion aerospace purchase from the country. Sir Ian Rochester suggests that a recently vacated seat on the Court of Appeals may be available to him. When prosecution witnesses conveniently find themselves unable to give evidence, Deed is convinced that the fix is in and works to uncover the truth.