An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.

In "the public" an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place. The story revolves around the library patrons, many of whom are homeless, mentally ill and marginalized, as well as an exhausted and overwhelmed staff of librarians who often build emotional connections and a sense of obligation to care for those regular patrons. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, the Patrons turn the building into a homeless shelter for the night by staging an "Occupy" sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what's really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of our nation's most challenging issues, homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.

One of Cincinnati's public libraries soon becomes an unlikely shelter for homeless people seeking warmth from the city's cold weather. All hell breaks loose as the homeless begin barricading themselves in the library and the police are called in to try and defuse the situation. Writer and director Emilio Estevez's carefully-crafted dramedy focuses on the story of two librarians, a crisis negotiator, a district attorney and the leader of the homeless as they become tied up in this act of civil disobedience.