In the heat of the city, a man is out of time: speeding in a beat-up Ford Tempo, blasting easy-listening music. Reporter Steve Everett drinks too much, makes love to his boss's wife, and has just stumbled upon a shocking truth: a convicted killer is about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit.

In the cold confines of Death Row, Frank Beachum is also out of time. Ready to say good-bye to the wife and child he loves and hello to the God he still believes in, Beachum knows he did not kill a convenience store clerk six years ago. But in a few hours--if Steve Everett can't find the evidence to stop it--a needle is going to pierce Frank Beachum's skin.

The killing machine is primed. The executioner is waiting. And so is the priest. Now the clock is ticking down and the race is on--between the reporter and his demons, between the system and its lethal flaws, between the last innocent man and society's ultimate crime. . . .

Author: Andrew Klavan
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dell
Published: 08/11/1997
Pages: 400
Weight: 0.43lbs
Size: 6.89h x 4.19w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780440224037


Award: 1996 Anthony Awards Nominee - Novel


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/07/1997

About the Author
Andrew Klavan, a two-time Edgar Award winner, is the author of Don't Say a Word, The Animal Hour, and True Crime, among other novels.