In Russia, on the eve of the revolution, a young student named Raskolnikov murders an old pawnbroker over a pocket watch. Although an innocent man is quickly arrested for the crime, Raskolnikovs's own published essay - suggesting that people who are extra-ordinary are above such things as right and wrong - draws the suspicion of judge Porfiry. Who will catch up to Raskolnikov first? Porfiry ? or his own guilty conscience?