[2] Taking place in Quebec City, the film tells the story of a lawyer and a patron of the arts, Albert Frédéric, who, earlier in life, caused a murder and made it look like an accident for financial gain.

The young American reporter, Mary Roberts, begins investigating the case, unaware that the charming lawyer may be behind it all.

The lawyer then offers the composer a deal: kill reporter Mary Roberts in exchange for legal representation that will guarantee to get the younger man off the hook.

[3] Some critics who have viewed both films for comparison have asserted that La Forteresse is actually a better film, for various reasons including faster-paced editing and a greater expressiveness among the actors in the French cast;[3] however, writer André Loiselle concluded that "what ultimately explains the success of La Forteresse and the failure of Whispering City are cultural rather than stylistic or aesthetic reasons.

The former, as a French-Canadian thriller enjoyed the best of both worlds, as it capitalised on both the insular character of Quebec's culture and its status as merely another subdivision of Hollywood's domestic market.

Whispering City on the other hand, suffered from the worst of both worlds as it proved to be neither a particularly good Hollywood film nor a distinctly Canadian work.