When 200 people from Washington gather at a cocktail reception for Senate Majority Leader Cale Caldwell, they are horrified to find the guest of honor with an icepick through his chest. Lawyer Lydia James is called upon by the widow to act as special counsel to the Senate subcommittee investigating Caldwell's murder. When her prime suspect turns out to be Caldwell's son, Mark, whose past involves an unsolved murder and participation in a religious cult, Mrs. Caldwell presses Lydia to withhold any further family information.