(L-R) Dabney Coleman as Burton Fallin, Simon Baker as Nick Fallin and Alan Rosenberg as Alvin Masterson, head of Legal Services of Pittsburgh.
Nick Fallin (Simon Baker) had it all. Growing up as the son of prominent Pittsburgh corporate lawyer Burton Fallin (Dabney Coleman), Nick was already used to the high life but, as a rising star within his dad's ultra successful firm, he has more money, success and power than he knows what to do with.
Nick's world is turned upside down, however, when he's caught and convicted for using drugs and sentenced to 1,500 hours of community service.
Still expected to carry on with his career at his father's firm, Nick is introduced to social worker Laurie Solt (Kathleen Chalfant) and asked to represent abused, neglected and at-risk kids in court. Reluctantly, he's now The Guardian, a part-time child advocate at Legal Aid Services, where one case after another is an eye-opening instance of kids caught up in difficult circumstances.
These are children whose troubled lives are a million miles away from Nick's own privileged upbringing and, being forced to dart between representing fragile young charges and powerful corporate clients, eventually reawakens Nick's long-dormant conscience to the harsh realities of life.
Also dealing with his own recovery from drug addiction, can Nick, who has been wrapped up in his own selfish world for so long, truly commit to helping others and even saving himself?