Sebastian Roark, a detective out of Los Angeles, is suspended by the department for indiscretions involving a murder suspect in an investigation in which he was involved. While suspended, he visits Minneapolis to tend to matters involving the death of his mother only to be talked into acting as a "judge" in a mock trial. During this engagement he begins to suspect one of the lawyers is having severe money problems and when the lawyer's wife suddenly dies, Roark, being the detective that he is, smells guilt and sets about to get evidence on the lawyer. With the help of his newly found friend, Miss Danny Hartwig, they wind catching the lawyer and his evil associalte.