Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate two shootings that occurred on the same day. Both victims were shot at close range from a sawed-off shotgun. The medical examiner is of the view that the shootings were from the same gun. There had been a similar shooting two weeks before and all three people had one thing in common: they were people of color. A fourth victim is severely injured but survived the attack and he can recall the shooter's voice. Dr. Olivet and an FBI profiler give the police a profile and they work down the list of subscribers to white supremacist magazines. It eventually leads them to Arthur Tunney whose mother died after being mugged by black youths just a few months before. After his arrest, Tunney hires a prominent black attorney, Horace McCoy, to defend him. McCoy manages to get him out on bail, which has a major impact on the case.
—garykmcd