Kathleen (Cher) is a burnt out public defender assigned to defend Carl Anderson (Liam Neeson) in a high profile murder case. Carl is a deaf mute homeless man who is accused of killing the secretary of recently deceased judge. He does not have the resources or ability to communicate his innocence. Kathleen must search for the truth and dig deep into the world of politics and scandal to save the innocent man. A handsome jury member, Eddie, (Dennis Quaid) begins his own investigation into the case. Eddie begins to gather evidence and works with the public defender to solve the case. Kathleen and Eddie must also fight there attraction to each other while trying to save the life of Carl.