A stockbroker died in a shooting incident at his company on his son's birthday. Two years later, the widow of the deceased sued the gun manufacturer Vicksburg for huge compensation. Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), an attorney with more than 30 years of experience, would rather choose jury members based on his personal experience, but he still accepts to cooperate with Lawrence, a jury screening consultant, because such cases against gun companies are more likely to fail than to win. On the other hand, the gun company hired the well-known jury screening consultant Rankin (Gene Hackman) to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the background of the jury members in order to control the jury. Young Nick (John Cusack) was selected for the jury, but his purpose seemed not simple at the beginning. Nick used various means to compete with Rankin's power inside the jury. Nick's partner Mary (Rachel Weisz) also sent signals to Rahl and Rankin, promising that they could control the jury with money. While Rankin was overwhelmed in the battle with Nick, his men discovered Nick's real intentions...