The Burden of Proof, published in 1990, is Scott Turow's

Scott Turow

Scott F. Turow is an American author and a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies...

 second novel, somewhat of a sequel to Presumed Innocent

Presumed Innocent

Presumed Innocent, published in 1987, is Scott Turow's first novel, which tells the story of a prosecutor charged with the murder of his colleague, an attractive and intelligent prosecutor, Carolyn Polhemus. It is told in the first person by the accused, Rǒzat "Rusty" Sabich...

. The Burden of Proof follows the story of defense attorney Sandy Stern as he attempts to put his life in order in the midst of seeming dishonesty all around him.

The novel begins with Stern's discovery of a relationship between his wife and another man. As he begins to put the pieces together it becomes a far more complex endeavor than just an affair. Apparently, his wife is involved in something that he knows nothing about.

Many of the minor characters in The Burden of Proof also appear in Turow's later novels, which are all set in fictional, Midwestern Kindle County.

Mini-series

In 1991, a television mini-series based on the novel and bearing the same title was released starring Héctor Elizondo

Hector Elizondo

Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...

.