This is the story of a man who is fighting for more than just a world boxing championship.

Making good on a promise he made to his dying wife, a widower (Jones) opens a reading room, a place where people can learn to read. Despite his goodwill, problems in the neighborhood threaten his establishment.

In post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles, tensions erupt when the lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple converge during a 36-hour period.

American tourist Gene LePere (Lee Remick), on vacation in Turkey, is hounded by a street vendor into buying a carved head she doesn't want. Then she is cast into prison for smuggling an antique.