In Savannah, Georgia in 1936, Nathan Ogilvie is a new lawyer in the Old South. He finds a true friend in Deputy Jack Somersby, and together they protect the most vulnerable, especially a widow named Mattie Walker who takes in orphaned and abandoned children, most of whom are half-white. When a well-known cotton broker is mysteriously murdered, Nathan must defend an innocent colored woman against an angry white jury. His case becomes even more dangerous when he breaks the law himself: he falls in love with his client.