**SPOILERS*** Talking a brake from his job as a freelance photographer Mike Kovac, Charles Bronson, gets himself involve in a near lynching of a local wise-guy Phil Pike, Arthur Batanides, who's accused of assaulting a young woman Carman, Linda Lawson, in the neighborhood.
Things get really steamed up that swelteringly hot summer night as Carman's father Burt, James Westerfield, and her hot headed older brother Jerry, Harry Dean Stanon, whip up an angry mob to, with them not having the guts to do it themselves, drag the totally innocent, despite being the sleaze-ball that he is, Pike out of his hotel room and meet out justice, street justice, to him! Kovac knew that Pike was innocent of assaulting Carmam from the start since he saw the entire event that lead to her being roughed up! This lead Kovac to put his both life and safety on the line to protect Pike from being beaten and even lynched by the mindless and blood thirsty mob! That Carman, who to her credit never accused Pike of assaulting her, had a hand in stirring up!
Kovac uses his camera as well as his fists to knock some sense into the neighborhood bullies,lead by Burt & Jerry, heads in just how mindless vicious and prejudice they really are. Not the good decent and concerned American citizens that they think that they are. As things turned out Carman was in fact embarrassed by having been accused by a Mrs. Collins, Eva McVegh, of trying to steal her husband, William Kendis, away from her! Kovac saw all this happen so he knew that Pike being accused of assaulting Carman was pure bunk. It was an outraged Mrs. Collins who tore into Carman not Pike! And it was Carman by not telling the truth in who attacked her-Mrs. Collins-that almost cost an innocent man, Phil Pike, his life!
P.S It was the brave and take no BS Mike Kovac who by photographing the raw hatred and blood thirsty lust of the lynch mob and those who went along, in spirit not action, with it that in the end shamed them into seeing what a bunch of mindless monsters they really were!