In the fall of 1999, psychologist Sophia Wilmot is compelled by the court to give testimony on behalf of a death row inmate that results in his sentence being overturned. It is an act that brings her unwanted media attention, a notoriety and reputation that given her past and its secrets, she can ill afford. Soon other prisonersΠ²Πβ’ families come seeking her assistance. There is one family in particular, the wife, children, and brother of Jarrett Capshaw, that is especially insistent. Forty-one days ago JarrettΠ²Πβ’s request to die was granted by the State of Texas, and he became a dead man walking, a man they call a volunteer.
Jarrett has his own secrets. Most notably, it is rumored he knows the whereabouts of the missing Mayan codex that lies at the heart of his crimes. The U.S. and South America are equally anxious to recover the priceless artifact that scholars believe holds the key to the Mayan-posed mystery of 2012. As pressure increases on Jarrett to give up the location of the ancient codex in exchange for his life, Sophia is drawn into a relationship with his wife and, in particular, with JarrettΠ²Πβ’s oldest son, Thomas. There will be consequences, she knows. There will be a price to pay. But not even Sophia is prepared for it when the brutal truth is exposed, the unalloyed facts that, incredibly, deliver JarrettΠ²Πβ’s fate straight into SophiaΠ²Πβ’s hands. The execution clock is ticking. She has the power to save him, if she chooses. If he will let her. And in the end, it could destroy her.