Lawyer Jake Brigance is sitting in his office in Clanton, Mississippi on a rainy February day when two strangers, Gene and Kathy Roupp, request a meeting. The couple explain that, while on vacation in Costa Rica, they met a man named Mack Stafford who asked them to deliver a letter to Jake. Jake is shocked to hear Mack’s name: Mack was a well-known lawyer in Clanton before suddenly divorcing his wife, leaving his practice, and disappearing. Mack’s letter, which includes $1,800 in cash, asks Jake and his wife to come to Costa Rica, stay at a luxury lodge at Mack’s expense, and help him return home. After conferring with his friend Harry Rex Vonner, a fellow Clanton lawyer who previously represented Mack, Jake agrees.

Jake and his wife Carla spend four days hiking, riding horses, and whale watching at the lodge in Costa Rica. On the fifth day, Mack calls and arranges a private lunch with Jake. Mack admits to Jake that he stole money from clients in Clanton. Several years earlier, four men hired him after being injured by a chainsaw; despite his best efforts, Mack was unable to get the responsible company to agree to a monetary settlement.