 After a technicality results in the release of a man being tried for the rape and murder of a young woman, her father (Robert Preston) murders the man. Admitting his guilt and refusing to use temporary insanity, the father places his attorney (Beau Bridges) in a virtual no-win situation. In an extreme effort, the attorney decides to call the judge (Mel Ferrer) who released the murderer originally and to challenge the entire legal system that would permit such a travesty.