Freddy Heflin is the much-denigrated sheriff of tiny Garrison, New Jersey, a community which is populated almost entirely by members of the New York City Police Department. When young cop Murray Superboy Babitch becomes embroiled in a shootout that leaves two black youths dead, he apparently commits suicide rather than face the wrath of an official investigation. In the wake of the controversial events, NYPD Internal Affairs lieutenant Moe Tilden arrives in Garrison to uncover the truth.