Buy Silk

With female Q.Cs or 'silks' in a tiny minority, barrister Martha Costello,of the Shoe Lane chambers,is anxious to join that elite number by progressing through the courts. Following a successful acquittal in a murder trial she is given two cases to defend at short notice. One is Mercedes Cordoba,a pregnant drugs mule for whom she pleads for mercy based on Mercedes' poverty-stricken background. However smooth fellow barrister Clive Reader,representing Mercedes's co-defendant,points to her previous,of which Martha was unaware,and she is sent down - though she is relieved to be out of the dealers' clutches. The other is Gary Rush,charged with robbing and assaulting elderly war hero Michael Dodd,though he has no confidence in her. Mr. Dodd commands sympathy in court but Martha demonstrates that Rush has been set up by a vengeful policeman and he walks free. At a chambers party Martha is irate when,in view of the day's business,she sees Reader snorting coke and pushes him downstairs. Her young pupil Nick backs her up by claiming that the fall was accidental.
Hide description ▲

Martha's day begins badly when she discovers that she is pregnant and gets worse when she finds that scheming Billy has her down to defend Alan Bradley,accused of raping ex-girlfriend Annie with Reader - who has just bedded Niamh,his junior - prosecuting. In court Reader plays to the gallery,Annie appears fragile and Bradley accuses Martha of being too soft on her. After she has warned Niamh about Reader's bed-hopping the junior gives her some information which tips the case in her favour though she still wonders who was telling the truth. Niamh gets bail for Gary Ross,whom Martha recently got off a robbery case but Martha doubts his innocence when part of the loot,a medal,appears in her locker. Kate and John,two other lawyers,feel that Billy's fondness for the drink makes him unsuitable for the job.
Hide description ▲

Martha is at last a QC,making her senior to Reader. Their first case together is defending taciturn thug Brendan Kay,muscle for the infamous criminal Farr family,accused of half-blinding a motorist who fell foul of boss Jody Farr. Martha believes Farr's influential solicitor,sharp Micky Joy and Farr are conspiring to stitch up the innocent Kay for a crime Farr committed. Battling against both formidable prosecutor Caroline Warwick and head of chambers Alan Cowdrey for Farr,Martha finds that Reader proves to be an ultimate help to her. He also has a solo case, defending killer Fatima Ali,referred by female solicitor George Duggan,who resists his efforts to pursue her romantically.
Hide description ▲

Martha defends young army captain Ryan at a military court. Under pressure during a Taliban offensive in Afghanistan he is accused of disobeying orders,leading to the death of Private Rivers in an under-manned exchange. Ryan's silence does not help his case but Martha discovers from his best friend,Captain Cassidy,that Rivers was less of a victim than presumed,having a fatalistic attitude after a traumatic experience. Reader,meanwhile,goes all out to impress George in defending Fatima Ali,accused of killing her brother.
Hide description ▲

Martha defends a young thug who smashed up a corner shop and attacked its owner who, he claims,insulted his girlfriend. Reader has sex in a toilet with George before prosecuting three Oxford students,members of an elite drinking club,charged with trashing a pub and assaulting a young waitress as part of an initiation rite. However he is out of his depth against the boys' three smug barristers and a parochial judge and he needs advice from an old colleague and Martha,aware that hers is a hopeless case,to get his desired result.
Hide description ▲

Martha defends Michael Ward,a security van driver accused of neglect and manslaughter when claustrophobic prisoner Richard Doyle has a panic attack and dies in transit. Reader is frustrated when Fatima refuses to plead self defence and when Cowdrey and Martha overrule him in appointing young ex-copper Daniel Lomas as his pupil over the pretty girl he preferred. However Daniel proves a great help to Martha in discrediting the prosecution's star witness and winning her case.
Hide description ▲

Caroline Warwick invites Reader to assist her in prosecuting Jody Farr,accused of killing Martha's client Brendan Kay,in exchange for reducing the murder charge against Fatima to manslaughter. When he accepts George dumps him and hands Fatima's case to Martha,who,helped by Daniel,does Fatima proud,discrediting her angry,sexist brother. However it is Joy who provides the vital evidence that wins the case,the deal being that Martha defend Farr in return. Martha is less successful in appealing to the law lords to spare Jackson Henderson,on death row in Jamaica,from hanging whilst Billy Lamb discovers he has prostate cancer.
Hide description ▲

As Billy Lamb undergoes his operation Martha reluctantly begins the defence of hectoring,arrogant Jody Farr as a favour to the reptilian Micky Joy. She plans to adopt the line that Farr was framed by the police but is enraged to learn that Joy is using Billy as Farr's alibi. Ultimately she gets Lamb to admit that Joy is bribing him and he admits this in court,exposing Joy as a corrupt informant. He also helps Reader out over trouble he incurred at Brighton with a glib opposing counsel before joining the rest of the chambers to welcome Caroline Warwick.
Hide description ▲

Whilst Clive Reader celebrates his taking silk but Martha hits the bottle, angry that inspector Wright has lied in court to convict her client Johnny Foster. Later David, the teen-aged son of chambers head Alan Cowdrey, is arrested for causing the death of a policeman , one of six who kettled him during a demonstration. Martha believes David has been bullied into pleading guilty by Wright and wants Alan involved in his son's case but David is not keen to see his father. Reader and Caroline Warwick agree to help Martha, who sees on CCTV that an anonymous man spoke to David in custody but there is no record of this meeting. In court she faces Wright, this time determined to beat him but evidence comes to light which weakens Martha's crusade.
Hide description ▲

Martha defends footballer Jordan Sinclair, who has attacked fellow player Dean Trent on the pitch in front of thousands - with Clive Reader prosecuting. Just before going into court Martha learns that Sinclair has recently fallen foul of smug manager Ben Madden, who appears to have coached Trent into deliberately needling him. Martha also discovers that Sinclair is gay, giving Trent another excuse to torment him and she brings in a witness to prove Madden and Trent's general bullying. New office manager Harriet Hammond continues to cross swords with the cancer-stricken Billy whilst chambers pupil Amy Lang has a tough time with her first case and Caroline uses subtle tactics to get the better of the opposition when she prosecutes in a rape trial. Alan makes contact with David in the secure unit.
Hide description ▲

Martha is engaged by euthanasia campaigner and solicitor Aisha Wiseman to defend Sarah Stephens, accused of helping her tetraplegic daughter Jo to die. Reader is prosecuting and brings in Sarah's ex-husband Patrick and their fifteen year old son to show that Jo did not want to die as Sarah stated. Whilst two expert witnesses appear to endorse this and Sarah's defensive attitude towards her family make her a less than cooperative client Martha realizes that she may be covering up for somebody else. Meanwhile Jake is poached by a rival firm and Billy tells Martha that, as Alan has now stepped down as chambers head, he is backing her as the successor. He also admits to her that he has cancer.
Hide description ▲

Believing in Sean McBride's guilt Clive Reader withdraws from the case whilst in court Martha's passionate, if biased, speeches lead to accusations of 'performing'. Increasingly the evidence suggests that Sean was indeed the owner of the gun which killed Monk though, as the trial continues, Billy brings in Micky Joy to high-light police corruption and present Sean as a victim of a dishonest inspector. After the jury delivers its verdict Billy is exonerated of the sexual harassment charge as, much to his annoyance, his terminal illness is revealed and the chambers members vote on who should be their new head. Having withdrawn her application Martha is not present to join in the celebrations.
Hide description ▲