Mike Sanders is a rookie cop assigned in Harlem. When a young black boy steals a purse from an old lady and fails to stop when warned Sanders shoots. He only intended to wing him but shot him critically. There was nothing racial in the way that Sanders reacted but a riot was caused. When the young boy dies Mike Sanders grapples with his feelings and regrets being part of the system. It takes the father of the victim, a minister,  to make him realise that law enforcement is his business and however much he doesn't like it he cannot escape that. 

<P>Excellent story, superbly acted.