Jefferson Bell has it all — the junior mansion in the suburbs, the country club membership, the cherry metallic Porsche Taycan, and a thriving career defending Chicago’s wealthiest white-collar criminals. He also has a wife he lies to, a mistress he can’t quit, and a long trail of affairs he thought he’d buried.

When an anonymous blackmailer starts closing in — showing up at Jeff’s home, delivering threats to his wife, identifying his children by name — the smooth-talking defense attorney does something he’s never done before. He drives to the wrong side of town, buys an off-the-menu Taurus TX22 from a taco truck, and prepares to handle the problem himself. With the help of Rags Richland, a flashy ex-con turned unlikely best friend, Jeff hatches a plan to scare the blackmailer off for good.

But nothing about this case is what it seems. The messenger isn’t the blackmailer. The blackmailer may not be a stranger. And every lie Jeff has ever told is about to come due — all at once.

Fast, funny, and razor-sharp, this crime caper blends noir-dark stakes with laugh-out-loud dialogue, double-crosses, and a hero who richly deserves whatever’s coming to him. Trouble has rarely been this much fun.