Disillusioned lawyer Eddie Dodd (James Woods) used to be a high flyer, but has spent the last ten years defending drug dealers. When idealistic graduate Roger Baron (Robert Downey Jr) becomes Dodd's apprentice, he inspires his reluctant boss to accept the case of a young Korean boy who has been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. As he becomes increasingly convinced of his client's innocence, Dodd rediscovers some of his old fire, and with Baron's assistance becomes embroiled in an epic battle with the entire city legal system that - should he lose it - could end his career once and for all.