Having moved to San Diego to be closer to the woman in his life, Madriani takes on the case of Jonah Hale, an elderly man in dire straits. Because of the longtime drug addiction of their only child, Jessica, Jonah and his wife have been raising their eight-year-old grand-daughter, Amanda. After Jonah wins a multi-million-dollar state lottery, Jessica revives her interest in mothering. When Jonah won't deal--maternal rights for a megabucks pay-off--Jessica pulls out all the stops. Enter Zo Strade, a flamboyant feminist activist with a talent for making children and their "victimized" mothers disappear. When the next moves turns deadly, Madriani finds himself drawn into a web of deceit and high-stakes action, in and out of the courtroom.