Canton, Mississippi. Carl Lee Hailey's 10-year-old daughter, Tonya, is viciously brutalized and raped by two white racist rednecks. The two are found at a roadside bar, bragging about what they did to Tonya. Carl Lee remembers a case where four white men raped a black girl in a nearby town and were acquitted. Carl Lee is determined to not let that happen again. While a deputy is escorting the men up to the court room, Carl emerges with an assault...