When his best friend from childhood is accused of murdering his mistress, Alan Shore returns home to defend him.

An ongoing, sensational murder case besets Shore with pre-trial anxieties centering on jury selection; a hostile judge; a priest's confession; and suspicions of malpractice that involve a manipulative witness for the prosecution.

Fireworks erupt at Dr. Stewart's trial when shocking testimony is elicited from the defendant's strong-willed mother, a conflicted priest and a crackpot.