Drama about the true cases and personal demons of Sir Edward Marshall Hall, Edwardian London's most celebrated lawyer. As chairman of court cases that made headlines and drew large crowds to the public gallery, Sir Edward Marshall Hall, counsel at the Old Bailey, was Britain's first legal celebrity. Marshall Hall is a champion of justice for all and earns a reputation as the Great Defender as he advocates the innocence of clients who refuse to defend other lawyers. He defends a humble German prostitute accused of murdering a client, dissects an ugly libel case of homosexuality within an aristocratic family, and defends the suspect in the infamous Camden Town Murder. With every case, Marshall Hall takes his chance and improves his reputation. But when a maid is accused of killing her illegitimate baby, it brings back dark memories of the lawyer's unhappy first marriage.