The delineation between good and evil and cops and robbers is tantalizingly unclear in this intelligent and cliche-free crime drama from Sidney Lumet that is based on Tainted Evidence, a popular novel from Robert Daley. Two members of New York's finest are about to bust one of the city's most powerful drug lords when something goes terribly awry. The ensuing shoot-out involves three precincts, and, following the dealer's escape, three officers are dead and one is critically wounded. Later the pusher turns himself over to prominent defense lawyer Sam Vigoda (Richard Dreyfuss). The politically ambitious district attorney Morgenstern (Ron Liebman) appoints promising rookie lawyer and ex-cop Sean Casey (Andy Garcia) to prosecute the dealer. The catch is that Sean is the son of the badly wounded cop, 37-year veteran Liam Casey (Ian Holm). Sean is talented but no go-getter; he is also extremely naive and truly believes that all cops are honest, especially his own father. The case goes smoothly, Sean wins, his father survives, and he even finds himself the object of a young woman's affection. Things are going great until a corpse is fished out of the harbor and poor Sean finds himself caught up in an increasingly tangled web of corruption and deceit that leaves him unable to make much distinction between the police and the criminals.