André Léoni, whose father was a notorious gangster, was truly 'coddled' by his mother from his earliest childhood. Yet one day André finds himself before a criminal court, accused of a heinous crime: he is alleged to have raped and murdered a young woman, Annie Chartier, the daughter of a professor from Lyon. Despite the serious evidence that seems to incriminate him, André continues to deny the charges before the jurors. Facing this man who claims to be innocent, President Leguen presides over his final trial before retiring. Convinced that André Léoni is lying and that the environment in which he grew up shaped his criminal fate, Leguen relentlessly presses him. André's mother, Térésa, blinded by her excessive love for her son, will stop at nothing to save him-forcing Leguen to compromise his principles of justice and fairness when she kidnaps his wife in a desperate attempt to save her child.