Crusading newspaper publisher Matt Drayton's liberal principles are put to the test when his daughter, Joey, announces her engagement to John Prentice, an internationally renowned African-American physician. While Matt's wife, Christina, readily accepts Joey's decision, Matt intends to withhold his consent, forgetting that when it comes to matters of the heart, true love is colorblind.

Set in a time where color roles have been reversed, Louis Pinnock (John Travolta), a poor man of the ghetto, struggles to support his family. When he loses his job at the whim of the factory's owner (Harry Belafonte), Louis decides to take on the system by taking on his former boss.

Racial slurs are scrawled in the restroom of this dusty Southwestern nowhere. The messages of hate make Byron want to get away-- now. But he's not going anywhere because the car taking him and his girlfriend, Nina, from Chicago to L.A. is stuck in the shop of a racist, price-gouging mechanic. Is Byron overreacting to what he sees? Are his fears about to explode in unexpected ways? With tempers flaring, it only takes a spark.

Assistant D.A. Reilly (Hutton) is assigned to investigate an incident in which veteran street cop Lt. Brennan (Nolte) killed a Puerto Rican drug dealer.