The book is based in Clanton, Mississippi. Two drunk rednecks decide to rape a ten year old black girl. Her dad, Carl Lee Hailey, decides to kill the two rednecks. He gets his justice. He kills the two rednecks with an M-16 Automatic. He also accidentally hits one of the security guards. The security guard's leg has to get amputated. Carl Lee has to find a good lawyer. He finds a white man named Jake Brigance. The KKK comes back to Ford County for the first time in a long time. Carl Lee and Jake almost get killed many times throughout the book. At trial, Jake says that anyone with a daughter would kill the person that raped her. Carl Lee and Jake use an insanity defense. The case goes to the jury.