When prosecutor Elliot Rosen leaks to naive but well-meaning Miami reporter Megan Carter that liquor wholesaler Mike Gallagher is suspected in the murder of local longshoreman union president Joey Diaz, Gallagher's life begins to unravel.
Mike Gallagher is a Miami liquor wholesaler whose deceased father was a local mobster. The FBI organized crime task force have no evidence that he's involved with the mob but decide to pressure him into perhaps revealing something - anything - about a murder they're sure was a mob hit. They let Megan Carter, a naive but well-meaning journalist, know he is being investigated and Gallagher's name is soon all over the newspaper. Gallagher has an iron-clad alibi for when the murder occurred but won't reveal it to protect his fragile friend Teresa. When Carter publishes her story, tragedy ensues. Needing to make amends, Carter tells Gallagher the source of the first story about him and he sets out to teach the FBI and the Federal Attorney a lesson.—garykmcd
In Miami, Joey Diaz, president of the local longshoreman's union, has gone missing and is presumed murdered. Close to a year later, Elliot Rosen, who has been leading a strike force on the matter for the Justice Department, believes liquor wholesaler Michael Gallagher is responsible for Diaz's disappearance despite having no evidence and Michael on the surface being "clean". Rosen's belief stems from Michael having taken over his business on the death of his crooked father, Tommy Gallagher, a known bootlegger who had kept the union off the Miami docks for years. Megan Carter, a reporter for the Miami Standard who is working the Diaz story, has a personal connection to the strike force through FBI agent Bob Waddell, a member of the strike force and Megan's now ex-boyfriend. Megan learns that the strike force has placed Michael under investigation by reading the file they have on Michael that Rosen "conveniently" leaves on his desk while he leaves his office for a short period leaving Megan there, alone. Rosen wanted the information leaked to the press so that Michael could eventually be squeezed for information; Megan naively obliges what Rosen wants by writing a story as such. The front page story incenses Michael, who was not interviewed before the story went to press. Although the story is accurate in the way the facts are presented, there is still no proof Michael has done anything illegal or wrong in any manner, but the story will still place him in a bad light as possibly being guilty of murder. Megan refuses to divulge the source for the story to Michael, who knows his business will be negatively affected. Michael does have an alibi for the time of Diaz's disappearance which he does not even bring up, the alibi involving time spent with a long time platonic friend, devout Catholic Teresa Peron. Over time, Michael and Megan slowly start to fall for each other. Despite the story's negative impact on his life, Michael decides to take control of his life back only after one specific tragic incident. Megan is affected in two ways. First, she now becomes part of the story as Michael's girlfriend. And second, she may not be able to separate her role as Michael's girlfriend from that of reporter, she perhaps having to prioritize between the two.—Huggo
Megan, a newspaper reporter, is leaked information by the local DA's office that Michael Gallagher, the nephew of a mob boss, is being investigated for the disappearance of a senior union organiser. After some token checks, she prints the story. This has significantly adverse effects on Gallagher's business and life. Desperate to clear his name, he starts to play them at their own game.—grantss
Michael Colin Gallagher is the son of a long dead Mafia boss who is a simple liquor warehouse owner. Frustrated in his attempt to solve a murder of a union head, a prosecutor leaks a false story that Gallagher is a target of the investigation, hoping that he will tell them something for protection. As his life begins to unravel, others are hurt by the story. Megan Carter, the reporter, is in the clear under the Absence of Malice rule in slander and libel cases. Knowing nothing to trade to the prosecutors, Gallagher must regain control of his life on different ground.—John Vogel <[email protected]>
Headlines in Florida's 'Miami Standard' newspaper reveal that Joseph Diaz, a longshoremen union leader, has been missing for months and is presumed dead, although the police have no leads. Reporter Megan Carter (Sally Field) visits the Department of Justice task force headquarters, but the offices are empty as its members are watching mid-1970s footage of the funeral for bootlegger Tommy Gallagher.
In the screening room, Elliott Rosen (Bob Balaban), head of the task force, points out Tommy's brother, Santos Malderone (Luther Adler), the head of local organized crime. He also focuses on Tommy's son, Michael Colin Gallagher (Paul Newman), a liquor supplier who is supposedly clean. However, Rosen is suspicious and orders his men, including Bob Waddell (Barry Primus), to work a case against Gallagher.
Later, Megan asks Waddell why the task force is interested in Gallagher; he warns her to stay away due to Gallagher's mob connections, but Megan reports to her boss, "Mac" McAdam (Josef Sommer), that the task force must be investigating Gallagher regarding Diaz's disappearance.
Rosen agrees to meet Megan but deliberately places Gallagher's file on his desk before her arrival, then leaves the room soon after the interview begins. Megan reads the file and writes an article claiming that Gallagher is a suspect in Diaz's disappearance. The newspaper's lawyer vets the article and asks Megan to call Gallagher so they can protect themselves legally; since the paper has no knowledge that the story is false, they are "absent malice" and cannot be sued. When the article is printed, Gallagher demands to know Megan's source, but she refuses to answer and unsuccessfully interrogates Gallagher about Diaz's disappearance.
Elsewhere, District Attorney Quinn (Don Hood) questions Rosen about the reason for Gallagher's investigation and Rosen argues that pressure on Gallagher might produce information from his uncle, Santos Malderone. Meanwhile, Gallagher's friend Teresa Perrone (Melinda Dillon), a shy Catholic school secretary, worries about the article because she was with Gallagher when Diaz disappeared. Gallagher tells her to be honest about their friendship if questioned, but to refrain from revealing her past whereabouts.
A day or two later, Megan arranges a meeting with Gallagher, who offers to take her to lunch. Wearing a wire, Megan boards Gallagher's fishing boat as the newspaper photographer who is sent to keep an eye on them watches helplessly. Gallagher reveals that he knows Megan is wired and demands information about her sources, but Megan remains uncooperative.
Making his case, Gallagher insists that if Megan writes stories implying his guilt, everyone believes her, but if he is proved innocent, the story will be buried in the paper and no one will know the truth. After a police helicopter enlisted by the photographer flies overhead, the lunch ends. The next day, Gallagher returns to his warehouse where he finds workers on strike under pressure from their union. Gallagher tries to convince the union representative that he was not involved in Diaz's disappearance, but the man does not believe him and insists the longshoremen cannot work there.
Later, Gallagher takes Megan to dinner and asks for her consideration, but he soon realizes that Malderone's henchmen are following them. Gallagher meets with his uncle and promises that he will not help the task force.
Meanwhile, Teresa arranges a meeting with Megan and explains Gallagher's alibi; Teresa was pregnant from her former boyfriend, and Gallagher took her to an Atlanta, Georgia, abortionist on the day Diaz disappeared. Although Teresa is a devout Catholic and begs Megan not to write about the abortion, Megan insists the information will clear Gallagher. When the story makes headlines, Teresa commits suicide.
Upset, Megan goes to Gallagher's warehouse, but he is furious about the emotional damage the paper inflicted on Teresa, and he rips Megan's blouse while trying to make her understand Teresa's pain. Before she leaves, Megan admits that Rosen leaked the story. Meanwhile, Rosen meets with Waddell and insists that the investigation must continue despite Gallagher's alibi. Elsewhere, Gallagher buys an answering machine and orders a bank check for $3,000, payable to a non-profit political organization that supports Quinn. Gallagher then calls Quinn to set up a deal, promising to look into Diaz's disappearance if Quinn makes a public statement clearing his name. Giving Quinn his phone number, Gallagher tells the District Attorney to call when the statement has made front-page news. Later, Gallagher brings a new blouse to Megan's apartment and concedes that it was not easy for her to reveal Rosen's name.
Sometime later, Quinn orders Rosen to terminate the investigation and holds a news conference, clearing Gallagher. However, Rosen demands that Waddell put both men under surveillance and orders an illegal wiretap on their phones. Megan brings Gallagher a proof of her article that clears his name, and later they are photographed as they enter her apartment building.
The next morning, Gallagher leaves Megan's building and returns to his warehouse, where he listens to a message from Quinn suggesting that they meet. That day, Gallagher disguises his voice and leaves incriminating messages on his own answering machine about the meeting. Gallagher also orders another check for Quinn's non-profit organization.
Meanwhile, Rosen and Waddell discover the checks and study transcripts of the calls to conclude that Gallagher is bribing Quinn. When Waddell tells Megan the news, she does not believe him, but he shows her the checks and photographs, including images of herself with Gallagher, and insists that she cannot print the story.
That night, Megan cooks dinner for Gallagher and asks why Quinn made the public statement. Although Gallagher refuses to answer, Megan cannot let the subject drop and Gallagher leaves. Later, Quinn is shocked when Megan asks if he is receiving bribes and denies her claim, but Megan writes a story anyway, revealing that the task force is probing a link between Quinn and Gallagher.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General James J. Wells (Wilford Brimley) assembles Gallagher, Megan, the newspaper's lawyer, Quinn, Rosen and Waddell for a formal inquiry into the Quinn-Gallagher article. Rosen fails to make his case, as Gallagher claims that he only promised Quinn that he would look into Diaz's disappearance and argues that he donated money because he supported the organization's work. When Wells demands to know Megan's sources, she admits that Rosen deliberately leaked the story about Gallagher, but she refuses to implicate Waddell. Wells realizes that Gallagher set up Quinn and the task force, but sympathizes with Gallagher regarding Teresa's death. Wells dismisses Gallagher, Megan and Waddell, but orders Quinn to resign. When Rosen refuses to leave the Justice Department, Wells fires him.
Sometime later in the final scene, Megan stops by Gallagher's boat and learns that he has sold his home to sail north. Defending journalism as an honorable profession, Megan admits that she failed as a reporter but hopes to do better in the future.
