Ralph Nieves, a charismatic latino former undercover narcotics New York Police detective, used to put criminals in jail. After being wrongly accused by the Feds of drug trafficking, a crime which carries a 45 year prison sentence, Ralph was finally acquitted during a Federal trial.

Now, as a private detective hired by court appointed lawyers on what are known as 18B cases, Ralph helps impoverished clients to get out of jail.

We follow Ralph doing a polygraph test on a young frightened kid, convincing a witness who perjured himself on a murder case to tell the truth, finding the hard facts about a pedophile case, being instrumental in freeing a young man accused wrongly of a homicide.

Also on a lighter note, Ralph warns a naive 60 year old buddy of his on the dangers of marrying a poor 20 year old immigrant eager to get a green card. Other characters in this hour-long documentary, include his Puerto Rican girl friend, a tough policewoman, and most of all, his 80 year-old mother who stood by him through the hard times of his accusation and trial and who now works with him as his secretary.