Barbara Holloway has a reputation for taking on the toughest cases--and winning them. The trial involves the murder of Gus Marchand, a hard-working, God-fearing man who was found dead on his kitchen floor. Without any real evidence linking him to the crime, the locals cast their suspicions toward Alex Feldman, Marchand's hideously deformed neighbor. At the request of a fellow attorney, Barbara agrees to defend him. But another suspect is the high school principal, Hilde Franz, who'd had a contretemps with the dead man earlier that week, giving police both motive and opportunity for the murder. Hilde is an old friend of Barbara's father, Frank, a legendary attorney. Naturally, he's going to defend her... Will Barbara have to square off against the man who taught her all she knows?