Jake is 30 years old, smart, and ambitious. His law practice in Clanton keeps him busy and he is a hard worker: “Few people attacked the morning like Jake Brigance” (18). But he harbors unfulfilled ambition. When Jake agrees to represent Carl Lee Hailey after the shooting, he enters a dark, dangerous world in which his legal views and actions threaten his career and his marriage, as well as his life and the lives of his wife and daughter. On the other hand, the trial and the press it attracts also promise to bring him the publicity, attention, and opportunity he seeks.

Jake is no stranger to the racism of the South, but he has never been the target of it. When the Ku Klux Klan attempts to bomb his house, he must face the very real threat the racially divided community presents. Rather than back down, he sticks with Carl Lee’s case despite further attempts on his life, as well as attacks on Bud Twitty and Ellen Roark. However, his commitment comes at a cost as he begins drinking heavily and compromising his ethics. In the end, though, Jake emerges from the heat largely unscathed.