A powerful L.A. entrepreneur (Stanley Tucci) is accused of killing his mistress's 15-year-old sister, Jessica Costello, after she is found "naked, tied up, strangled, [with] drugs all over the place" in an apartment he owns. The murder of Jessica Costello becomes front-page news and the hottest new case for the law firm of Hoffman & Associates.

Convinced that Richard Cross is trying to manipulate the outcome of Neil Avedon's murder trail, Hoffman advises Justine to turn down a business opportunity from him.