Winston Patrick, a successful lawyer but dissatisfied with his career defending the downtrodden of Vancouver's criminal world, trades in the courtroom for the high school classroom. Soon Winston's past life meets his present when a student accuses a fellow colleague of a teacher-student love affair. Reluctantly, Winston agrees to provide legal defence, but the case takes an even uglier turn: the student is murdered, making her alleged lover the prime suspect. And this is no ordinary student. With her family connections reaching as high as the Prime Minister's office, Winston and his friend Detective Andrea Pearson find themselves immersed in a murder investigation that could cause an international incident, if it doesn't cost Winston his own life first.

Winston Patrick was a successful lawyer who defended the downtrodden of Vancouver's criminal world. Dissatisfied with his career, he traded in the courtroom for the high school classroom. Winston is barely surviving his first year at a Vancouver high school when his students present a human rights issue. A student wants to bring his same-sex partner to the high school prom, but the school won't let him. Winston reluctantly leads his proteges on their first legal quest: suing the school. He never thought that fighting for a student's rights could have deadly consequences, but as the issue gains publicity, Winston discovers that their opponents will stop at nothing to make their point—not even murder. David Russell's first Winston Patrick novel, Deadly Lessons, was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for best first crime novel.