When Tullio Murri (Giancarlo Giannini) murders the abusive nobleman husband of his sister Linda (a radiant Catherine Deneuve), the ensuing trial begins to focus more on the unpopular socialist views of the defendant's professor father (Fernando Rey). Based on a true story from 19th-century Italy, this political thriller and courtroom drama also stars Ettore Manni as Linda's lover and Marcel Bozzuffi as the dogged prosecutor.