In Clanton, Mississippi, black, ten-year-old Tonya Hailey is raped, tortured, and left for dead by two white men. She survives and identifies her abductors, who are quickly arrested. Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, takes matters into his own hands, shooting and killing the two prisoners. As his attorney prepares Carl Lee's case, the town is overrun with reporters and avenging Klansmen.