Theodore Boone, young lawyer, has had a lot to deal with in his thirteen years, everything from kidnapping to murder. But he's come through it all and, with the law on his side, justice has always prevailed. Sometimes, though, the law doesn't seem so just. His friend Hardie Quinn is about to have his family home bulldozed to make way for a bypass. Hardie is not the only one affected: other homes, businesses and schools lie in the path of the road. Theo has to tell his friend the bad news: for once, the law isn't on his side, and there's very little anyone can do to end the destruction. Theo joins the campaign to stop the road. But when he stumbles on a terrible secret about the corrupt men behind the plan - a secret it is illegal for him to know - Theo must figure out how to keep the developers from breaking the law... without breaking it himself.