The Pelican Brief is a dynamic and suspenseful mystery novel in which an unknown assassin kills two Supreme Court justices. Later on his name is found to be Khamel and he is one of the most notorious yet unknown assassins in the world, he may not be the only one though. A young college girl, Darby Shaw, is the author of The Pelican Brief. This paper reviles all the known people suspected of murdering the two Supreme Court justices. Anyone who reads The Pelican Brief is instantly a target for assassination.
Darby is deeply in love with one of her college professors, Thomas Callahan. One night as they were leaving their hotel Thomas enters his car with Darby on her way, and then the car explodes. Thomas is killed and Darby is in shock. Barely conscious Darby is carried to a car and placed inside by two men that identify themselves as cops, she notices one is wearing cowboy boots then shortly passes out. Upon awakening more police were at the scene.
Darby explains she was supposed to be killed with Thomas but hadn't gotten in the car yet and that two men that said they were cops carried her to a car shortly after the explosion. Scared and knowing she was targeted for assassination she tries to hide and become anonymous. She changes her looks and habits but is later pursued by men she doesn't know.
As Darby tries to stay anonymous, Gavin tracks her down. He is secretly an FBI agent but denies that to Darby. He questions her on the pelican brief and what it is. She refuses to give him any information because of her fear of people she cannot trust. Gavin is forced to stay in contact with her. In order to earn her trust Gavin tries to help her get away. They decide to take a ferry boat from New Orleans to where ever the boat was going.
As Darby and Gavin arrive, so does another man named Verheek. They approach the entrance of the boat as the assassin pushes through the crowd. Verheek draws his gun and sticks it at the base of Gavin’s head and fires. Gavin slowly dies and the crowd screams as the gunman leaves the scene.
Scared and alone, Darby is forced to stay on the run. She meets up with a man, Grey that works at a law firm who she finds strikingly handsome. She wants him to try to release the pelican brief to the public. They both work together to find out who exactly is after her. They find out the FBI, Khamel, and Verheek are all out to hide the pelican brief and excluding the FBI are out to eliminate the witnesses of the document.
Later Khamel and Verheek are killed in a car wreck. Grey and Darby find this out on television and are greatly relieved. The soon do release the pelican brief and the criminals are exposed. Darby and Grey then travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They both live happily ever after