Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford), a respected prosecutor whose life begins to unravel after the murder of his colleague and former lover, Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi). Rusty is assigned to investigate Carolyn’s brutal death, but he is hiding a major secret: shortly before she died, they had been having an affair. As the investigation develops, evidence increasingly points towards Rusty himself. His fingerprints are found at the scene, and details of his relationship with Carolyn place huge pressure on both his career and his marriage to Barbara Sabich (Bonnie Bedelia). Determined to prove his innocence, Rusty becomes caught in a political and personal battle involving his powerful boss Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy), ambitious rival prosecutor Tommy Molto (Joe Grifasi), and detective Dan Lipranzer (John Spencer). As the case moves to trial, Rusty’s defence lawyer, Sandy Stern (Raúl Juliá), works to expose weaknesses in the prosecution’s evidence.