Barbara Hoffman (Thora Birch) is the topper in the University of Wisconsin, but she also leads another life in which she is a well-known prostitute. On a cold Christmas morning, her love and fiancé Jerry Davies (Brenden Sexton III) finds a body buried in the snow. The police think that Jerry is responsible for the murder and for hiding the body in the snow. However, Detective Lulling (Keith Carradine) is not convinced and thinks Jerry is innocent. Jerry and Barbara are suspected of the murder and the trial of Barbara is the first televised murder trial in United States.