At the center of Pleading Guilty is Mack Malloy, ex-Catholic, ex-cop, ex-husband, ex-alcoholic, and soon to be ex-partner in Gage & Griswell. Even from his childhood he had recognized that "I was hopelessly at odds with everyone — my ma, the Church, the nuns at school, the entire claustrophobic community with its million rules."

As he grew older, Mack continued to realize the many traps around him.

Since he owed his admission to the police academy to a local councilman, Mack had to repay the favor, and so he altered the bar exam results for the councilman's son, Jake Eiger. This pattern of corruption was a part of Mack's life, even though many times it was inadvertent rather than willed.

When he was a police officer, Mack's partner gave him his "share" of a drug bust. Although Mack gave this money to the Church, he later testified against his...