Cary, a young waitress in a small mid-western town, lost her live-in boyfriend, Mike, in a fire of suspicious origin. The somewhat inexperienced but hard-hitting prosecutor goes after Cary for murder, and a skillful and highly motivated attorney is appointed by the court to defend her. A mountain of forensic evidence piles up along with the damaging testimony of many reliable witnesses. The outcome of the trial depends on the credibility of the state''s many witnesses and the significance of the circumstantial evidence compiled by the prosecution. The defense mounts a valiant effort to save Cary from a lengthy prison term, dwelling on the weakness of the evidence and the lack of credibility of the prosecution witnesses.