When socialite Sunny von Bülow (Glenn Close) inexplicably slips into an irreversible coma, police suspect foul play - and the obvious suspect is her urbane husband, Claus (Jeremy Irons). After being found guilty of murder, Claus is granted a retrial and hires showboat Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to represent him. Though unconvinced of Claus's innocence, Dershowitz enjoys a challenge and - along with a group of his students - fights to have the verdict overturned.