"Automne 1946. Pete Banning, l'enfant chéri de Clanton, Mississippi, est revenu de la Seconde Guerre mondiale en héros, décoré des plus hautes distinctions militaires. Propriétaire d'une plantation de coton et fidèle de l'Eglise méthodiste, il est considéré comme un père et un voisin exemplaire. Un matin d'octobre, il se lève tôt, se rend en ville et abat son ami, le révérend Dexter Bell. Que s'est-il passé pour que Pete, membre respecté de la communauté, devienne un meurtrier? Et pourquoi se mure-t-il dans le silence? Nul ne le sait. Mais ce qu'il tait semble dévastateur, tant pour ses proches que pour les habitants du comté... Avec cette œuvre majeure, John Grisham nous entraîne du vieux Sud ségrégationniste aux jungles des Philippines de la Seconde Guerre mondiale." -- Back cover.

"Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946. he rose early, drove into town, walked into the church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell. As if the murder wasn't shocking enough, it was even more baffling that Pete's only statement about it - to the sheriff, to his defense attorney, to the judge, to his family and friends, and to the people of Clanton - was 'I have nothing to say'. He was not afraid of death and was willing to take his motive to the grave.And so the murder of the esteemed Reverend Bell became the most mysterious and unforgettable crime Ford County had ever known ... John Grisham takes us on a journey from the Jim Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during World War II; from an insane asylum to the Clanton courtroom where Pete's defense attorney tries desperately to save him." -- Abridgment of a synopsis from goodreads.com