After a two year hiatus from the practice of law David Armstrong takes on the defense of a white Los Angeles police officer who is being retried after an appeals court reversed his conviction for murdering a teen-aged black gang member. This causes a conflict with David's long-time lover, Felicia Bates-Baxter, California's senior U.S. Senator, who publicly accused the police officer of being a brutal and racist cop during the first trial. She agrees to remain silent as the new proceeding unfolds but other critics of the officer's action resume their protests. David also has to contend with county prosecutors so hell-bent on sending the officer back to prison they flagrantly violate the officer's Constitutional rights, causing David's ire to raise to all-time levels.