A horrific murder that shocked the whole city happened in Chicago. Bishop Rosen of a local church was brutally murdered and mysterious numbers were engraved on his body. The police arrested the suspect Allen (Edward Norton) who was present at the scene and covered in blood. Martin (Richard Gere) is Allen's defense lawyer and competes with his ex-girlfriend, prosecutor Janet. Martin doesn't care about the facts. His only purpose in defending Allen is to win the case and make himself famous. Janet, as the representative of justice, certainly won't give in. Janet (Laura Linney) learned from her investigation that Bishop Rosen had sexually assaulted Allen and others before his death, and Allen's defense that he suffered from "temporal amnesia" was also ridiculous. The witnesses of the murder he mentioned have never been found. Janet believes that all the evidence, including the motive for the murder, is complete. Martin successfully exonerated Allen by using the excuse that he was mentally ill, but everything was unexpected.