Trial lawyer Barbara Holloway has a reputation for taking on the toughest cases and winning them. But this time it looks as though she's up against an unbeatable opponent. The trial involves the murder of Gus Marchand, a hard-working, God-fearing man who was found dead on his kitchen floor. The locals cast their suspicions toward Alex Feldman, Marchand's hideously deformed neighbor, without any real evidence linking him to the crime. At the request of a fellow attorney, Barbara agrees to defend him. The other suspect is the high-school principal, Hilde Franz, who'd had an argument with the dead man earlier that week. But Hilde also happens to be an old friend of Barbara's father, Frank, who has agreed to defend him in court. Will Barbara have to square off in court against the man who taught her everything she knows?