Twenty-five-year-old Victoria Justice has never really gotten over a near drowning at the hands of her high school bully but has attempted to build her confidence and career as a court stenographer under the mentorship of The Honorable Frederica Scott Wannamaker, the county's first African American Superior Court judge. But when Victoria's childhood nemesis appears on the court docket, our heroine's carefully crafted world implodes―evidence goes missing, a potential mistrial abounds, and the judge winds up drowned in the courthouse bathroom. Victoria quickly realizes her trial transcript unlocks everyone's secrets...including the murderer's. But can she suppress her fears long enough to crack the code, reclaim her voice, and avoid the crosshairs of the killer?