A girl from a poor black neighborhood attending a rich mostly white prep school witnesses her childhood friend being killed by a police officer and faces a difficult dilemma.

The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him--except the town's most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children.