Robert Chambers, a man who attended prep schools on a scholarship, kills Jennifer Levin, who herself was of a privileged background after they leave a trendy Manhattan bar together.

When Detective Mike Sheehan arrests him, Chambers claims that he killed her in self-defense after rough sex got out of hand.

In the ensuing trial, Chambers' attorney, Jack Litman, attacks Levin's personal history.

[2] John Leonard of New York called it "pointless" and compared it negatively to Linda Wolfe's book, Wasted: The Preppie Murder.

[4] John J. O'Connor of The New York Times wrote that the film's denunciation of the press as exploitative was ironic, as it "merely warms up the old headlines it pretends to abhor.