Two young lawyers, Ben and Boris, arrive in the New Orleans public defender's office determined to represent those most in peril: kids who are to be prosecuted as adults. When 16-year-old Robert is arrested and charged with murder, the two set about constructing his defense, with Ben taking the lead. But years of heavy cases spark a burning recklessness in Ben. He does what he believes - what he knows - must be done. And in his fervour to absolve Robert, Ben spins a web to bend the narrative in his favour, one in which everyone is expendable - even those his young client loves most. A riveting story of loyalty and grief that cross-examines an unjust criminal legal system, Seraphim combines the grit and realism of Richard Price's Clockers with the empathy and psychological complexity of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
