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A junior barrister celebrated for spiriting people out of tight legal corners represents an accused murderer.

Will Burton is a junior barrister known as the Escape Artist for his skill at having his clients' cases discharged in court. Will is happily married to Kate with a son, Jamie, and eyeing career advancement. His latest client, Liam Foyle, is accused of torturing and killing Sandra Mullins but Will manages to get the jury to acquit him via a loop-hole. Despite the victory in court, Foyle becomes obsessed with revenge when Will snubs Foyle's offer of a handshake. He stalks the family and files a complaint against Will, who arrives home to find Kate murdered and Foyle lurking outside their house.

Maggie defends Foyle on the charge of killing Kate and, although she finds him a weird, unsettling young man, gets him bail. He immediately shadows Will's nine-year old son. Foyle gives Eileen Morris, a fellow cage bird breeder, as his alibi and, other than Will's statement, no forensics link him to the crime. Though barred from participating in the case Will does his own sleuthing, helped by colleagues Danny and Trevor, and links Eileen to the Sandra Mullins murder. He tries to tell Maggie he now knows Foyle was guilty then but she has a case to win to gain promotion. Will does however find a boot linked to the murder site in Eileen's lock-up. As the trial begins he is chief prosecution witness but Maggie manages to cast suspicion as to the truth of his story.

Maggie successfully defends Foyle, who is acquitted of Kate's murder but Will warns her to be wary of her unsettling client. Feeling let down locally Will travels to the Scottish border in search of another post and runs into Foyle, who would appear to have followed him. There is a fight and a fire breaks out, Will calling the ambulance and Foyle taken to hospital. However there is to be another trial before Will's nightmare comes to an end.