The Innocent Man opens with a description of the town of Ada, Oklahoma, population 16,000. Ada is "a friendly place, filled with people who speak to strangers and always to each other and are anxious to help anyone in need" (2). The close-knit community is more interested in church activities, local politics and high school football than national events.

After setting the scene, Grisham chronicles what is known about the events that took place on the night of December 7th, 1982—the night twenty-one-year-old Debbie Carter, a cocktail waitress at the Coachlight nightclub, was murdered. Through witnesses' accounts, we learn that Debbie had been socializing with friends, including Glen Gore, with whom she had gone to high school. Debbie is seen dancing briefly with Glen, then arguing with him, and later talking to him in the parking lot. After the bar closes, Debbie goes home, but at 2:30 a.m. she calls her friend Gina and asks her if she would come pick her up, because a visitor, whose name she does not give, is making her uncomfortable. A few minutes later, Debbie calls again and tellsGina not to come, that things are fine after all.