Denny Martel in Circle Back is thirty years old and several years into his career as a criminal trial lawyer. He has fought the good fight on hundreds of rape, robbery, and murder trials. The unrelenting stress of trial after trials has begun to take its toll. Denny's romantic life has run into a dead end. Just as the prospect of an imminent burnout appears Denny is assigned the case of Jess Scolopendra, a beautiful woman accused of the brutal murder and dismembering of her husband Miles. As Denny assembles a defense, he is the target of Charlie Manson's street posse and Jess' sometimes mafia hit man boyfriend. Manson and his girls have been convicted and are facing death sentences. Bruno, the boyfriend has issues with Denny, some to do with Jess, others to do with an ex of Denny. All of this drama is set in the midst of the great Sylmar earthquake aftermath and the end of the Manson trial.