The offshore oil platform known as the Emerald Rose is an explosion waiting to happen. And just as surely, it's a blizzard of lawsuits waiting to happen.
Houston's Robert Herrick is "the lawyer for the little guy." Against his better judgment, he finds himself drawn into representing more than a hundred plaintiffs suing the Emerald Petroleum Company. Careless managers have killed dozens of innocent victims by taking risks like replacing drilling fluids with sea water. But the other side is represented by a former street fighter named Jimmy Coleman. He's the head of litigation at the mega-firm of Booker and Bayne, where he commands an army of associates who can find arguments to block the plaintiffs' claims at every turn. In depositions, in pretrial motions, and even in filing the lawsuit papers, the plaintiffs' lawyer finds himself outmanned and outmaneuvered -- all while he's being secretly hunted by the infamous drug lord El Raton.
This was one time when perhaps Robert shouldn't have listened to his wife Maria, who thought that he was just right for this case. Robert soon learns that he will need to fight with all his strength if he is to save even a chance for his clients -- and if he is to save his own life and those of his partners, because of the case of ... The Emerald Rose.
