Once-promising attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman), framed for jury tampering years ago, was fired from his elite Boston firm and is now an alcoholic ambulance chaser whose practice is on the verge of collapse. As a favor, his friend and former teacher, Mickey Morrissey, sends him a medical malpractice case in which it is all but assured that the defense will settle for a large amount. The case involves a young woman given an anesthetic during childbirth, after which she choked on her vomit and was deprived of oxygen. The woman is now comatose and on a respirator.

Released December 8, 1982.