Martin Vail (Gere) is a famous defense attorney in Chicago who jumps at the chance to represent Aaron Stampler (Norton), a young altar boy accused of murdering the city's archbishop. Stampler admits to having been with the archbishop at the time of the murder, but claims that an unknown third person committed the crime while he (Stampler) had "lost time" (blacked out). At first interested primarily in the publicity that the case will bring, Vail comes to believe that his client is innocent.