When police arrest Melvin Ignatow for murder, his son Mike is sure he is innocent and that his dad's girlfriend is to blame instead. Melvin is acquitted but later confesses to the crime, and Mike must face the fact that his father has gotten away with murder.

As a child, Daniel Rolle idolizes his father, Donald, and thinks his family is happy, but when things start to go wrong, he begins to realize that his father's growing rage and unrelenting cruelty are causing everyone to suffer. After a childhood spent wrestling with the conflicting emotions of both loving and fearing his own father, when Donald's rage ultimately leads to murder, Daniel finds himself with his father's life in his own hands.