On Halloween morning, Chicago news editor Danny Fain witnesses what may, or may not, be a crime. From the window of his commuter train, he thinks he sees a tiny, sheet-clad figure struck down by a car. It is a story that could save a newsman's career-shocking, heartbreaking, anger-inducing-and Fain is the only one in town who has it. But when he arrives at the newsroom, he learns that the paper is going under. To keep the story, all he will have to sacrifice are a few musty principles...and, perhaps, his future and his soul.