Paul Lamont, a corrections officer and law student, leads a comfortable if culturally bankrupt, middle-class existence. Lamont's marriage is already in trouble when he bails out a mysterious Haitian, Jean Baptiste, in the belief that Baptiste has been wrongly accused. Baptiste insinuates himself in Lamont's life and leads him on a journey of discovery. Lamont then finds that acts of conscience can have unforeseen consequences.

Gardien à la Kings County Jail de Brooklyn, Paul Lamount noue une relation amicale avec un prisonnier haïtien condamné pour un viol dont il jure être innocent.