A Quaker family is held hostage by a band of bank robbers and their non-violent beliefs are sorely tested. The film also questions whether their attempt at a non-violent solution actually makes things worse for themselves and their captors. Based on Stanley Ellin's novel STRONGHOLD.

The year is 1949 and reporter Hugh Jameson is looking for a story. He focuses on Emma Porter, a woman who was accused of the axe murder of her father thirty seven years earlier. Jameson disappears during his search and his wife hires Charles Ripley P.I. to find him. Ripley's search leads him to Emma's son who has his own nasty secrets to protect.