Mitch McDeere begins the novel as an overconfident student about to graduate third in his class at Harvard. Mitch has reason to be ambitious given his good grades and the number of law firms that have invited him to interview for positions as a first-year law associate. Mitch has always been poor and struggled to make his way through the world. If not for a football scholarship, he might not have gone to college, let alone law school. But Mitch has finally made it to the top and has every intention of picking the law firm that will allow him to practice the type of law he enjoys, tax law, and earn the money he feels he deserves. The law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke offers him that opportunity.

Mitch sees there are problems within the firm on his first visit. He notices the lack of minorities and women among the lawyers. He finds it strange that no lawyer ever quits the firm, a highly unusual circumstance since most people change jobs more than once in their lifetime. However, Mitch is so blinded by the package the firm is offering him that he is willing to overlook these things. His wife also notices issues, such as the fact that the firm encourages associates’ wives to stay home and have babies, but she, too, is lured by the offer of a low interest mortgage.