A man about to be acquitted of murder in Philadelphia boasts to his lawyer that he did it, after all. Furious, lawyer Marta Richter starts digging for evidence to prove his guilt before the case goes to the jury, which is in favor of acquittal, the accused having claimed self-defense against a car jacker.

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.