When Judge Grover Roswell Akers heard testimony against a 14-year-old teenager in 1939 Ventura, California, he understood that the boy participated in a murder-robbery. However, the accused did not actually pull the trigger. But unless the boy identifies his partner, the Judge must sentence him as a murderer, which would result in prolonged jail time. By delaying his decision for a month, the Judge buys time to convince him to unveil his partner. The Judge's investigator, along with the precocious 16-year-old girl who identified him as one of the thieves, explore different approaches to uncover the murderer. In the backdrop of escalating war in Europe, the final throes of the Great Depression, and the Judge's caseload, their attempts to help the boy and unmask the killer lure the Judge and his friends into sordid criminal activities in this small California town.
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