In the troubled city of Edison, a young journalist, his jaded editor, and an honest investigator from the district attorney's office join forces to gather evidence against corrupt members of an elite police unit.

In 1870, Margaret Knight launched a patent dispute that would be the first of its kind. She is forced to prove in court that she the designer, is the rightful owner of the patent of the machine that puts bottoms on paper bags; not Charles Annan, the man who has already built it.