Forced to try a case to keep his teaching job, law professor David Blake (Glenn Ford) is hired by attorney Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy) to help represent Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos), a Hispanic 17-year-old accused of killing a white girl. Although the boy is innocent, David faces a trial where race counts more than evidence. So as the hearing begins and he argues to a bigoted jury, David tries to save Angel's life while Barney -- a card-carrying Communist -- plans to let the boy hang so he can use his death as a fundraising tool for the party.