Feeling betrayed by his former lover Elizabeth Haysom, the teenage Jens Soering is returned to the US to stand trial for the murder of her parents. Soering likens his earlier confession to a tragic act of love, inspired by A Tale of Two Cities - giving his life to protect Elizabeth and ensure her happiness. His confessed account of the frenzied knife attack that killed the Haysoms, is picked over and re-enacted in court.