In 1968 Marietta, Georgia, Marie Ragghianti is beaten by her abusive husband, Dave. She leaves him and returns to Nashville, Tennessee, with her three children. In 1973, Marie works as a cocktail waitress while attending college to earn her Bachelor’s degree. One day, her youngest son, Ricky, chokes on a pistachio nut, and Marie rushes him to the hospital. Doctors find nothing in Ricky’s windpipe, and despite a clear X-ray, she worries about Ricky’s wheezing and believes the nut is lodged in his lungs. Years later, Marie finishes school, and asks classmate, Eddie Sisk, for a job in the governor’s office where he works. Sisk hires her as a state extradition officer. Eddie takes Marie on a tour of the state penitentiary, and she sees the inmates on death row. He asks her to be a liaison between the parole board and Governor Blanton, handling parole recommendations, and securing the early release of an inmate whose father contributed money to the governor’s campaign fund. Marie researches the inmate and finds he is not qualified for early release. However, Eddie insists. Marie befriends her co-worker, Kevin McCormack, who would like to marry her, but she is uninterested after the collapse of her abusive marriage. Eddie Sisk asks Marie to secure clemency for several violent inmates at Christmas time, and again, Marie questions him. On New Year’s Eve, Marie’s son Ricky begins choking, and is rushed to the hospital. Doctors find no obstruction, but perform a tracheotomy. Marie continues to insist the pistachio from years before is the source of Ricky’s breathing problems. Eddie offers Marie a position as chairman of the parole board, and the governor holds a televised ceremony to welcome Marie to the position. While she tends to her son in the hospital, Marie is visited by a lawyer named Jack Lowery, who tells her a man named “Roundtree” approached him, guaranteeing clemency to Lowery’s incarcerated client, for $20,000. When Lowery describes “Roundtree,” Marie realizes he is speaking of Bill Thompson, a close colleague of Eddie Sisk and the governor. Marie reports the extortion attempt to Eddie, but he dismisses the incident. Later, Marie learns that Bill Thompson is a friend of the inmate he is trying to get released. On a family road trip to Florida, Ricky chokes and Marie suctions out his lungs with a portable machine given to her by the doctor. Although Ricky recovers, the family is left traumatized, and Ricky returns to the hospital. Marie tells her friend Kevin about the extortion attempt, and he suggests she take a stand. Marie meets with the governor and tells him about Bill Thompson’s actions. He advises Marie to use her own judgment on how to handle her job. After the meeting, she receives a threatening telephone call from Eddie Sisk, warning her not to go behind his back. Sometime later, a woman is raped by a man who was granted early release from prison. Marie meets with an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who wants her to investigate Eddie’s possible involvement in buying clemencies. However, Marie is uncomfortable wearing a wire. She visits her son in the hospital, and his doctor finds the pistachio shell lodged in Ricky’s chest from years ago, and promises her son a full recovery. The FBI raids Governor Blanton’s offices, and the governor blames Marie for talking to them. However, he does not fire her. FBI agents conduct a polygraph test on an inmate and discover that Eddie Sisk is receiving money for clemencies. Meanwhile, Kevin advises Marie to hire a lawyer and resign after he learns the parole board is investigating her. She refuses to resign, and Kevin supports her. They attend a fundraiser at which Eddie and the governor are in attendance. Afterward, Marie is falsely arrested for drunk driving. The governor uses the incident to fire Marie from her job. He also accuses her of accounting infractions. Marie hires a lawyer named Fred Thompson and decides to sue for wrongful dismissal. When Eddie Sisk pressures Kevin to testify against Marie, he quits his job. Kevin gives Marie evidence and records he collected that will incriminate Eddie and the governor. Sometime later, Kevin is strangled to death by an unseen assailant. Kevin’s evidence goes missing, and Marie worries that she and her family are in danger. Marie’s wrongful dismissal trial begins. The jury finds her innocent of all charges. In time, the FBI reopens their investigation, and convicts Eddie Sisk and Bill Thompson of selling clemencies. The two men are sent to prison in 1981. Governor Blanton is impeached for his participation, and also found guilty of corruption, and is imprisoned in 1983. Several years after, Marie becomes a writer and lecturer on the criminal justice system.