This lively courtroom drama dives into the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, where a young Tennessee teacher, John Scopes, was tried for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. Two persuasive attorneys argue the case to determine the balance of church and state. In this fictionalized account, the smart Chicagoan, Henry Drummond, is the libertarian lawyer who volunteers his services for the defense. Opposing him is Matthew Harrison Brady, a demagogue who takes the words he has read in the bible absolutely literally. Denied the right to summon expert witnesses of his own, the defense lawyer decides to call Brady himself to the stand. While cross-examining him on his bible expertise, he exposes the ludicrous incoherence of fundamentalist's beliefs.