Against the Wind

This provocative tale of a renegade lawyer and his outlaw-biker clients exults in nonconformity. Will Alexander, a womanizing, booze-guzzling Santa Fe, N.M., lawyer, is sent by his legal partners on indefinite if not permanent leave with a warning to dry out. Furthermore, his ex-wife announces she's moving to Seattle, depriving him of quality time with his 10-year-old daughter. He finds a raison d'etre in the case of four menacing Harley-riders accused of murder. Convinced of their innocence despite colleagues' opinions and his at-stake reputation, Alexander pursues evidence that the group spent so much time gang-banging an arguably consenting motel maid on the night of the crime that homicide and mutilation before breakfast were out of the question. Unfortunately, crooked cops biased against the freewheeling outcasts brainwash the maid, who becomes their key witness. Despite a few convenient coincidences and macho posturing--for which Alexander's deep-down vulnerability overcompensates--movie and TV director/writer Freedman delivers irresistible legal wranglings and entertaining lawyerly theatrics. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection. (Sept.)