Ten years on death row.
Six months to live.
One explosive secret that could tear New Orleans apart.

Nate Reeves is a brilliant Georgetown law professor haunted by the one client he couldn't save from the execution chamber. He swore he was done with death penalty cases — but the agonizing injustice of Darius Brooks's conviction is impossible to ignore.

Darius has spent a decade at Angola for a murder he didn't commit, convicted on a coerced confession after his request for counsel was twisted and denied by a corrupt system.

Enter Kendra Pierce — a fiercely independent true-crime podcaster who operates in the court of public opinion and refuses to take no for an answer.

Nate's strict adherence to legal procedure clashes with Kendra's instinct-driven investigation. The rules are clear: keep it strictly professional. But as they dig into the victim's hidden past and uncover an alibi the police deliberately buried, they realize they are the only hope Darius has left — and that the line between professional and personal is harder to hold than either of them expected.

Uncovering the truth means stepping into the crosshairs of a ruthless NOPD cover-up. As coordinated intimidation escalates to physical danger, the friction between the professor and the podcaster ignites into something neither of them planned for.

With the execution clock ticking down to zero, Nate and Kendra must risk everything — their careers, their safety, and the one rule they swore they'd never break — to expose the real killer before the state executes an innocent man.

• Forbidden / Enemies-to-Lovers Adjacent
• Forced Proximity
• He Falls First
• Competence Porn
• Wrongful Conviction / Justice Stakes
• Danger / Romantic Suspense

• Slow-burn romance with explosive tension
• High-stakes legal thrillers and courtroom drama
• Atmospheric New Orleans settings
• Age gap and protective hero tropes
• Twisty mysteries with unpredictable reveals