The Rainmaker, by John Grisham, is a legal thriller that was first published in 1995 and later made into a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, and Claire Danes. This guide refers to the paperback version published by Dell Books in 2003.  

Plot Summary

Rudy Baylor is in his last semester of law school at the University of Memphis and preparing for the bar exam. For one of his final classes, Legal Problems of the Elderly, the professor wants his students to gain real-world experience. The professor takes them to the Cyprus Gardens Senior Citizen Center, where Rudy meets a woman named Miss Birdie who wants to rewrite her will and cut her family out of her $20 million estate. Rudy also meets Buddy and Dot Black, whose son Donny Ray is dying of leukemia. The Black’s insurance company refuses to pay, and they want Rudy to sue Great Benefit Life Insurance.

Rudy is broke. Chased by creditors, he gets evicted from his apartment and has to file for bankruptcy. He also loses his position with Brodnax and Speer, the job he was counting on after graduation, and the law firm is taken over by another firm named Tinley Britt. Fortunately, Miss Birdie has a spare room, and she and Rudy come to an agreement: Rudy gets rent cheap in return for helping her with yard work. Miss Birdie takes full advantage of the deal, and Rudy gets more than he bargained for. The Blacks’ case is uglier than expected, and it appears that a conspiracy of bad faith exists within Great Benefit. 

Rudy takes the Blacks’ case to the law firm of Jonathan Lake, who is Rudy’s idol. One of the lawyers agrees to hire Rudy as a paralegal in exchange for the case files; after he gets what he wants, Rudy is fired. Rudy turns to his friend, Prince, a shady local bar owner who deals in illicit business. Prince introduces Rudy to his lawyer, a man who goes by the nickname of Bruiser. Rudy convinces the Blacks to sign an agreement that gives Rudy the case, under Bruiser, and fires the lawyer who deceived Rudy. He makes a deal with Bruiser wherein he will do all the paperwork for the Blacks, hustle for personal injury cases at the local hospital, and study for the bar exam on the side. 

Bruiser’s paralegal, Deck Shifflet, has failed the bar many times, but he is good at convincing people to open personal injury cases. Rudy becomes friends with Deck, though he despises trying to get cases from people at the hospital. (When Deck isn’t around, Rudy studies instead.) Rudy meets a stunningly beautiful patient, Kelly Riker, who has been beaten—again—by her husband. They fall for one another, although Kelly tries to break things off because of her husband.

In a whirlwind of stress and study, Rudy passes the bar. Bruiser and Prince, in trouble with the FBI, flee the country. Deck and Rudy go into business together while Rudy keeps tabs on Kelly from a distance. The Blacks’ case gains momentum, and Great Benefit hires Tinley Britt to represent them. To make matters worse, senior partner Leo Drummond, who leads the case, is a close personal friend of Judge Hale. Rudy feels in over his head, but he plows on. He has grown close to the Blacks. The case takes on a personal element for him.

Judge Hale dies and is replaced by Tyrone Kipler, someone Rudy knows personally. Kipler dislikes insurance companies—and Tinley Britt. The case moves quickly, showing that Great Benefit made bad faith its company policy. The jury finds Great Benefit guilty and awards the Blacks $50.2 million in settlements.

Things unravel quickly: Great Benefit declares bankruptcy, and the parent company hides funds overseas. Kelly’s husband beats her a third time, and Rudy convinces her to file for divorce and takes her to a battered woman’s sanctuary. At one point, Rudy drives Kelly to her apartment, and her husband Cliff attacks them with a baseball bat. Rudy wrestles the bat away from Cliff and lands a fatal blow. Kelly tells Rudy to leave, and she is arrested. Rudy gets her out on bail, and then gets all charges dropped against her. Cliff’s family threatens Kelly and Rudy; one member even shoots at Rudy. Facing the failure of Great Benefit, no hope for a payout, and ongoing death threats from Cliff’s family, Rudy and Kelly leave Memphis for good.