Grudge Tiger Plot Summary

Grudge Tiger, Synopsis

Spoiler alert! The following is a synopsis of the entire book.

Enraged that he was rejected again by MARIETA WARREN, delivery boy DEAN ALCOTT flings his cell phone over the high fence of the tiger cage at the Warren Family Zoo. He enters the enclosure to retrieve it and is mauled by Bengal tiger, Ms. Benni. Marietta’s younger sister KENNY witnesses the event because she is recording beautiful, shirtless Dean on her phone to share with her best friend. The girls’ mother CAROLYN is shocked to be sued by Dean. She learns from JACKIE BAUER, the lawyer her insurance company hires to defend her, that her $500,000 in insurance coverage is grossly insufficient, and her zoo will belong to Dean if Jackie loses the case—a probable outcome based on the law.

From an off-the-cuff comment by Kenny describing her sister as a “grudge tiger,” Jackie learns it’s a family phrase which comes from the Warrens’ knowledge that Ms. Benni holds grudges. Jackie’s probing yields the fact that Kenny witnessed and recorded Dean aggressively kick at Ms. Benni’s head two weeks before the attack. If she can prove to the jury that Ms. Benni attacked Dean because the boy assaulted the animal, she can win the case using the defense of “provocation.” Since the kicking event and the mauling event were two weeks apart, Jackie can only prevail if she is able to establish that science recognizes the category of grudge tiger, and that Ms. Benni is one. Searching for evidence from an objective, outside witness, Carolyn tracks down Ms. Benni’s original owner, an elderly woman who remembers that the tiger had a vindictive nature as a cub.

With Kenny’s help, Jackie locates a tiger expert in London, DR. NIGEL LUCAS, who is willing to give a video deposition for use at trial. While in London for the deposition, Jackie relives two devastating losses from her past which transformed her into a joyless lawyer-machine. After confiding in Dr. Lucas, Jackie finds solace and hope. Kenny, along with her best friend, accompanies Jackie to London, where the expert’s insightful son volunteers to be the girls’ tour guide. He assures them that their brain-bucket reputations won’t be a negative at university, and Kenny experiences something new, the romantic attention of a young man.

Marietta, desperate to help her mother, visits Dean to offer herself to convince him to settle for the insurance money. He rejects her advance at the same time he loses his decade-long obsession with her. She learns why he did so poorly in school (his recently diagnosed dyslexia) and how he justifies his willingness to put her mother out of business.

As the trial proceeds, Dean’s lawyer asks the jury for an award of $3.8 million. But having seen how mesmerized the jurors were by Dr. Lucas’s testimony, he (and everyone else) expects him to lose the case. Therefore, he must persuade Dean to accept the insurance company’s policy-limits offer of $500,000— if he can get the insurer to put it back on the table. The insurance claim handler leaves it up to her insured to decide whether to settle. Carolyn tries to ascertain what her deceased husband would have done, and decides to settle. Dean accepts the offer, the settlement is announced, and the jurors are dismissed before they reach a verdict. Marietta and Kenny are deeply disappointed their mother agreed to give Dean the $500,000 and feel strongly she would have won, as does Jackie.

Two days after the settlement. A juror contacts Jackie to let her know that he was the only holdout on a verdict in favor of Dean, and that he expected he would’ve caved to the intense pressure being exerted to find in favor of “that poor, sweet boy.” The jurors had already decided unanimously that the award would be $3.8 million, if they were to find the zoo guilty. The others congratulate Carolyn for making the zoo-saving decision, and the foursome plans a real celebration. A few days later, Jackie and Kenny are delighted to learn that Carolyn has extended an invitation to Dr. Lucas and his son to visit the zoo, and the son promises to make it happen.

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