A Time to Kill is a legal thriller set in the racially divided town of Clanton, Mississippi. The story begins with the brutal rape and attempted murder of a 10-year-old African American girl named Tonya Hailey by two white men. After the assailants are arrested, Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, takes justice into his own hands by killing them with an M16 rifle in the courthouse.

Carl Lee is arrested and charged with double murder. His defense is taken up by a young white attorney named Jake Brigance, who risks his career, safety, and family to ensure Carl Lee gets a fair trial. As the case unfolds, the town becomes a powder keg of racial tension, media frenzy, and threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

Jake’s defense hinges on proving that Carl Lee was temporarily insane and acted out of overwhelming grief and a sense of justice. The trial tests the limits of the legal system, the morality of vigilantism, and the possibility of true justice in a deeply prejudiced society.