Judge Mary Stone wakes early Monday morning on her family farm, dreading a life-or-death sentencing decision she must make. She tends to her pregnant mare, feeds her cattle, and mucks out the horse stall before showering and heading to the courthouse.

Mary arrives at the Bullock County Courthouse and reflects on its painful history—her Black ancestors were barred from voting there for nearly a century after it was built in 1871. Her clerk, Luna Young, reminds her of the sentencing for Ferrell Gray, whose murder trial featured overwhelming evidence of guilt and violent courtroom outbursts. The jury recommended the death penalty—the decision that kept her awake.

Mary asks Luna to request extra security for the sentencing. Luna tells her that the sheriff already visited and left a letter from Gray, delivered from the county jail. The letter is filled with vulgar, misogynistic, and racist insults. Gray threatens that if Mary sentences him to death, the devil will ensure she dies a gruesome death.

Mary enters the courtroom before anyone else and is already seated when spectators and lawyers arrive. Gray has no family present, but journalists fill the gallery. When District Attorney (DA) Robert Reeves arrives late without acknowledging her, Mary briefly retreats to the chambers and then returns formally as the bailiff calls the court to session. She announces that she received a letter from the defendant and delivers copies to both attorneys.

The defense attorney, Bradley Tyler, requests that the sentencing be halted and that Mary recuse herself. Gray erupts violently, shouting racist and misogynistic insults. Mary overrules the recusal motion, citing precedent that defendants cannot use their own misconduct for “judge shopping,” and orders Gray to stand for sentencing. She sentences him to life without parole on two counts, rejecting the jury’s death recommendation. When Reeves objects, Mary tells Gray that she believes in “the sanctity of all human life” and won’t be intimidated into handing out a death sentence (24).

Early on Saturday morning, Mary prepares for the weekly community breakfast at her farm, a tradition inherited from her parents. She cooks large batches of food before her sisters, Nellie and Jordan, arrive to help. A bus from Victory Baptist Church arrives, carrying unhoused people and other community members and driven by Reverend Curtis Erskine.

Mary serves food and asks the reverend to lead the prayer. While sitting with the Jones family, Mary holds a woman named Starla’s baby so that her 13-year-old daughter, Nova, can eat. When Nova says that she feels unwell and needs the bathroom, Starla scolds her. Mary intervenes and directs Nova inside. A news van then pulls into the yard.

A television crew emerges and begins filming the guests. Mary confronts Nellie, who admits to calling the station to boost her sister’s reelection publicity. Mary orders the crew to leave, asserting that her guests deserve privacy. Reporter Reese Wilson claims the right to cover a public official but backs down when Mary threatens to have the sheriff arrest him for trespassing.

After the breakfast, Starla sends Nova to the dollar store with her toddler brother in a wagon. Nova is already experiencing cramping and spotting—side effects that Bria warned her about. On the way home, her cramping becomes severe pain, and blood soaks through her shorts. She manages to drag the wagon and her brother home and collapses on the floor. Starla accuses her of laziness until she sees the blood. A neighbor urges Starla to call emergency services, and paramedics take Nova away.

During a busy afternoon at her clinic, Bria is interrupted when Deputy Simmons enters the waiting room with an arrest warrant and handcuffs her in front of her patients. Sheriff Mick Owens waits outside and reads her Miranda rights. Bria states that she has an attorney, but Owens dismisses her. A news van and bystanders with cell phones record as the sheriff shoves her into a patrol car.

Mary is assigned a misdemeanor case: Fergus Pitt is charged with maintaining an unsanitary sewage facility. DA Reeves is the prosecuting attorney. After jury selection, a prosecution witness, an environmental engineer from Montgomery, testifies that he inspected Pitt’s property and found raw sewage piped directly into an open trench. Defense Attorney Chuck Rich’s objections prove weak. Mary is troubled to learn that the sheriff’s department paid for the private inspection.

When Rich’s cross-examination proves ineffective, Mary questions the engineer herself, drawing out testimony that septic systems regularly fail in the region’s dense clay soil and that functioning systems cost three times the normal price. Pitt testifies that he can’t afford the $30,000 cost on his $27,000 income. Mary grants Rich’s motion for acquittal, finding insufficient evidence of criminal intent. When Reeves furiously accuses her of making everything about herself, Mary threatens him with contempt of court and jail.

In the chambers, Luna tearfully reveals to Mary that Bria has been arrested for performing an abortion. Reeves enters uninvited and provides the details: The patient was 13-year-old Nova Jones, whose mother had no knowledge of the pregnancy. Nova confessed after hemorrhaging and being taken to the emergency room. Reeves argues that Nova’s attendance at Mary’s Saturday breakfasts creates a conflict of interest requiring recusal. Mary refuses.

In the parking lot, Nellie intercepts Mary and reveals that Sheriff Owens arrested the school nurse practitioner, Cocheta Bass, at the middle school, leading her away in handcuffs. The town is dividing into hostile factions. Nellie begs Mary to recuse herself, predicting that the case will be destructive. She reminds Mary of a traumatic childhood incident when a deputy brutally beat their father during a traffic stop. Mary tries to reassure her sister but is privately concerned.