Pioneering eighteenth century barrister William Garrow returns to the Bailey to champion the rights of prisoners. Based on the true story of James Hadfield - accused of attempting to assassinate King George III - Garrow risks his reputation to defend the indefensible. And he changes British law forever.

Two men accused of destroying silk looms in an act of industrial sabotage cower in the dock; their defence is perilously thin. Garrow must persuade a sceptical jury of their innocence. Love and loyalty compete with fear and betrayal in the brutal surroundings of the 18th-century Bailey.

Garrow is confronted with an impossible choice: to expose British colonial brutality in open court, or to re-unite Lady Sarah with her son. The dangerously ill Southouse intervenes, and Garrow is forced to decide. Love or honour? It cannot be both.