After leaving his ex-wife and a lucrative corporate practice in Boston, Dutch Francis moved to Manchester, New Hampshire to practice a "more humane kind of law." His ex-partner and ex-father-in-law, Rodger Dodds, a Brahmin whose roots go back to the Mayflower, refers him a sexual harassment  case involving his niece Julia Howard. Howard is a former associate at Manchester's Thibodeau &  Franklin law firm. Julia claims that senior partner Vincent Thibodeau made unwelcome sexual advances toward her and she had to quit her job to get away from hm. Thiboeau is a prominent player in New Hampshire Republican politics and a nominee for a high visibiity position on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

As the sexual harassment case spirals out of control, Dutch finds himself drawn into charges of attempted murder, date rape, and sexual molestation. His relationship with beautiful television newscaster Ginnie Turner reaches a crisis point as Dutch must confront his own conception of power and sex.